Whether organic or conventionally grown, fruits and vegetables are critical components of a healthy diet. However, many crops contain potentially harmful pesticides, even after washing, peeling or scrubbing, which the USDA does before testing each item. Since pesticide contamination varies by crop, it is important to understand which items are most or least contaminated. Tests from the Environmental Working Group determined the following items to be the Clean Fifteen for 2021:
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet peas (frozen)
- Eggplant
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Kiwi
- Cauliflower
- Mushrooms
- Honeydew melon
- Cantaloupes
These 15 items had the lowest amounts of pesticide residues, according to EWG’s analysis of the most recent USDA data. Key findings:
- Avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest. Fewer than 2 percent of samples showed any detectable pesticides.
- The first seven Clean Fifteen crops tested positive for three or fewer pesticides on a single sample.
- Almost 70 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had no pesticide residues.
- Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on Clean Fifteen vegetables. Only 8 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had two or more pesticides.
Article adapted from ewg.org.
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