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.