I do my best to buy organic when possible but we all know that can get expensive and organic isn’t always available.  When that’s the case, I use my Dirty Dozen cheat sheet to figure out which fruits and vegetables I should pass on if organic isn’t an option.  The Dirty Dozen is a trademark term used to define the twelve crops that farmers typically use the most pesticides on.

  1. Apples – at least 99 % have residue
  2. Strawberries – contained 13 different pesticides each
  3. Grapes- contained 15 different pesticides
  4. Celery- 13 different pesticides per sample
  5. Peaches
  6. Spinach
  7. Sweet Bell Peppers
  8. Imported Nectarines – every sample tested positive for pesticides
  9. Cucumbers
  10. Cherry Tomatoes – contained 13 different pesticides each
  11. Imported Snap Peas – contained 13 different pesticides each
  12. Potatoes – had more pesticides by weight than any other food