Environmental Working Group (EWG) has published their 2023 guide to the Dirty Dozen list, which is a list of fruits and vegetables that are likely to have the most pesticide residue. The biggest news is that blueberries are back on the list, with traces of several toxic pesticides. Americans are eating three times as many blueberries as 20 years ago, according to that agency. The list is based on analysis of the USDA data, which tests some fruit and vegetable samples. Just under 80% of all blueberry samples tested positive for two or more pesticides, compared to 70% in 2014. One sample of blueberries had up to 17 different pesticide residues. The most problematic pesticides are phosmet and malathion, which are organophosphate insecticides. They can be toxic to the human nervous … [Read more...]
Environmental Working Group Dirty Dozen Produce Guide Published
Environmental Working Group (EWG) has published their 2020 guide to the Dirty Dozen, which is a list of fruits and vegetables that are likely to have the most pesticide residue. The biggest change is EWG comment on raisins, which were not on the list but were mentioned for the first time. Raisins were tested for the first time since 2007 even though it's not a fresh food. That food is the dirtiest produce commodity. Of the 670 samples of conventional raisins analyzed, 99% tested positive for at least two pesticides. On average, each sample was contaminated with more than 13 pesticides. One sample had 26 pesticides. Even some organic raisins were contaminated. The issue with this food is that children under the age of 15 eat 208,000,000 pounds of raisins every year, about half of the … [Read more...]
