Report Card: Pesticides in Produce
The Dirty Dozen 
The Most Contaminated Produce On Your Table! 
When to buy organic or conventionally grown produce

 Fruits and vegetables are good for you and you need to eat them. But you can choose to buy some of your produce organic while there is little need to spend the extra money on produce that is commercially grown with out the need of pesticides. If you have ever gardened you know that some plants grow with out the need to ward off bugs and disease. Some plants are a magnet for all sorts of problems. 

Washing will not change the rank of the fruits and vegetables in the Guide. That's because nearly all of the data used to create these lists comes from the USDA Pesticide Data Program (PDP) where the foods are washed and prepared for normal consumption prior to testing for pesticides (apples are washed and cored, bananas are peeled, etc.).

While washing fresh produce may help reduce pesticide residues, it clearly does not eliminate them. Nonetheless, produce should be washed before it is eaten because washing does reduce levels of some pesticides. However, other pesticides are taken up internally into the plant, are in the fruit, and cannot be washed off. Others are formulated to bind to the surface of the crop and do not easily wash off. Peeling reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel.

The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.

Most Contaminated: The Dirty Dozen

Consistent with scientific  investigations, fruits topped the list of the consistently most contaminated fruits and vegetables. Peaches Lead the list, then strawberries, apples and nectarines. Pears, cherries, red raspberries, and imported grapes were the other four fruits in the top 12. Among these eight fruits:

• Nectarines had the highest percentage of samples test positive for pesticides (97.3 percent), Nectarines also had the highest likelihood of multiple pesticides on a single sample -- 85.3 percent had two or more pesticide residues 
• Pears (94.4 percent) 
• Peaches (93.7 percent), peaches also was the second highest for multiple pesticides(79.9 percent).
• Cherries tested showed multiple pesticides at 75.8 percent.

• Raspberries also (along with peach) had the most pesticides detected on a single sample with nine pesticides on a single sample, followed by strawberries and apples, where eight pesticides were found on a single sample.
• Grapes also made the list of but it was imported grapes that seemed to be the problem. 
  
  Peaches had the most pesticides overall with some combination of up to 45 pesticides found on the samples tested, followed by raspberries with 39 pesticides and apples and strawberries, both with 36.

Surprisingly spinach, celery, potatoes, and sweet bell peppers tested highest among the vegetables: I recommend that if you grow your own or spend the extra money to buy organic (especially if you eat them on a regular basis).

• Celery had the highest of percentage of samples test positive for pesticides (94.5 percent), followed by 
• spinach (83.4 percent) and 
• potatoes (79.3 percent).Celery also had the highest likelihood of multiple pesticides on a single vegetable (78 percent of samples), followed by spinach (51.8 percent) and 
• sweet bell peppers (48.5 percent).
  
  Spinach was the vegetable with the most pesticides detected on a single sample (10 found on one sample), followed by celery and sweet bell peppers (both with nine). Sweet bell peppers were the vegetable with the most pesticides overall with 39, followed by spinach at 36 and celery and potatoes, both with 29.

Least Contaminated: Consistently Clean

The good newz is that  some vegetables are consistently clean - included in the list is sweet corn, avocado, cauliflower, asparagus, onions, peas and broccoli.

• Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of the pea and broccoli samples had no detectable pesticides. Among the other vegetables on the least-contaminated list, there were no detectable residues on 90 percent or more of the samples.
• Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on any of these least contaminated vegetables. Broccoli had the highest likelihood, with a 2.6 percent chance of more than one pesticide when ready to eat. Avocado and corn both had the lowest chance with zero samples containing more than one pesticide when eaten.
• The greatest number of pesticides detected on a single sample of any of these low-pesticide vegetables was three as compared to 10 found on spinach, the most contaminated crop with the most residues.
• Broccoli and onions both had the most pesticides found on a single vegetable crop at up to 17 pesticides but far fewer than the most contaminated vegetable, sweet bell peppers, on which 39 were found.

The five fruits least likely to have pesticide residues on them are pineapples, mangoes, bananas, kiwi and papaya.

• Fewer than 10 percent of pineapple and mango samples had detectable pesticides on them and fewer than one percent of samples had more than one pesticide residue.
• Though 53 percent of bananas had detectable pesticides, multiple residues are rare with only 4.7 percent of samples containing more than one residue. Kiwi and papaya had residues on 23.6 percent and 21.7 percent of samples, respectively, and just 10.4 percent and 5.6 percent of samples, respectively, had multiple pesticide residues.