Environmental Working Group has released the eighth edition of
its Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce with information on
fruits and vegetables and their pesticide loads. EWG analyzed
residue tests conducted by the USDA and federal Food and Drug
Administration between 2000 and 2010 for the report. EWG
separated popular fruits and vegetables into two groups: "Dirty
Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen." Samples tested were first washed or
peeled prior to testing. Rankings likely reflect the amounts of
the crop chemicals present on the food when is it eaten. The
produce least likely to test positive for pesticides were
asparagus, avocado, cabbage, grapefruit, watermelon, eggplants,
pineapples, mushrooms, onions, frozen peas and sweet potatoes.
More than 90% of cabbage, asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant and
sweet potato samples had one or fewer pesticides detected. Of
the Clean Fifteen vegetables, no single sample had more than
five different chemicals, and no single fruit sample had more
than five types of pesticides