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.
- Apples – at least 99 % have residue
- Strawberries – contained 13 different pesticides each
- Grapes- contained 15 different pesticides
- Celery- 13 different pesticides per sample
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Imported Nectarines – every sample tested positive for pesticides
- Cucumbers
- Cherry Tomatoes – contained 13 different pesticides each
- Imported Snap Peas – contained 13 different pesticides each
- Potatoes – had more pesticides by weight than any other food