EWG analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with rankings for the following popular fresh produce items. All 48 foods are listed below from worst to best – lower numbers indicate more pesticides.
Note: EWG analyzed pesticide tests of 48 popular produce items. Domestic and imported versions of two items – blueberries, green beans and snap peas – showed sharply different results, so we have ranked those domestic and imported items separately. As a result, the Shopper’s Guide displays 51 entries.
1

Strawberries
2

Spinach
3

Nectarines
4

Apples
5

Peaches
6

Pears
7

Cherries
8

Grapes
9

Celery
10

Tomatoes
11

Sweet bell peppers
12

Potatoes
13

Cucumbers
14

Cherry Tomatoes
15

Lettuce
16

Snap peas – imported
17

Blueberries – domestic
18

Hot peppers +
19

Kale / collard greens
20

Blueberries – imported
21

Green beans – Domestic
22

Plums
23

Tangerines
24

Raspberries
25

Carrots
26

Winter squash
27

Oranges
28

Summer squash*
29

Green beans – Imported
30

Snap peas – domestic
31

Bananas
32

Green onions
33

Watermelon
34

Mushrooms
35

Sweet potatoes
36

Broccoli
37

Grapefruit
38

Cauliflower
39

Cantaloupe
40

Kiwi
41

Honeydew melon
42

Eggplant
43

Mangos
44

Asparagus
45

Papayas*
46

Sweet peas frozen
47

Onions
48

Cabbage
49

Pineapples
50

Avocados
51

Sweet Corn*
+ Dirty Dozen PLUS
* A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from genetically modified seeds. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid genetically modified produce.