Environmental Group Releases Annual 'Dirty Dozen' List Of Fruits And Vegetables
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Environmental Working Group has released its annual "Dirty Dozen" list, and the results aren't pretty.
The list, which highlights the 12 fruits and vegetables that are most contaminated by pesticides, included an additional "Plus" category for the second year in a row. The "Plus" category is made up of produce that didn't meet the criteria for inclusion on the Dirty Dozen list but was often contaminated by harmful pesticides.
In 2013, the fruits and veggies on the Dirty Dozen list were apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, hot peppers, imported nectarines, peaches, potatoes, spinach, strawberries and sweet bell peppers. Two vegetables, summer squash and kale, were included in the Plus category.
The EWG recommends avoiding conventionally grown produce on the Dirty Dozen list, but notes that any produce consumption at all is better than avoiding fresh fruits and vegetables altogether.
And in case you were wondering, the 15 cleanest fruits and vegetables are sweet potatoes, frozen sweet peas, pineapples, papayas, onions, mushrooms, mangos, kiwi, grapefruit, eggplant, sweet corn, cantaloupe, cabbage, avocados and asparagus.
