Pesticides In Produce
From The Environmental Working Group
The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies
RANK |
FRUIT OR VEGGIE |
SCORE |
1 (worst) |
Peaches |
100 (highest pesticide load) |
2 |
Apples |
96 |
3 |
Sweet Bell Peppers |
86 |
4 |
Celery |
85 |
5 |
Nectarines |
84 |
6 |
Strawberries |
83 |
7 |
Cherries |
75 |
8 |
Lettuce |
69 |
9 |
Grapes – Imported |
68 |
10 |
Pears |
65 |
11 |
Spinach |
60 |
12 |
Potatoes |
58 |
13 |
Carrots |
57 |
14 |
Green Beans |
55 |
15 |
Hot Peppers |
53 |
16 |
Cucumbers |
52 |
17 |
Raspberries |
47 |
18 |
Plums |
46 |
19 |
Oranges |
46 |
20 |
Grapes-Domestic |
46 |
21 |
Cauliflower |
39 |
22 |
Tangerine |
38 |
23 |
Mushrooms |
37 |
24 |
Cantaloupe |
34 |
25 |
Lemon |
31 |
26 |
Honeydew Melon |
31 |
27 |
Grapefruit |
31 |
28 |
Winter Squash |
31 |
29 |
Tomatoes |
30 |
30 |
Sweet Potatoes |
30 |
31 |
Watermelon |
25 |
32 |
Blueberries |
24 |
33 |
Papaya |
21 |
34 |
Eggplant |
19 |
35 |
Broccoli |
18 |
36 |
Cabbage |
17 |
37 |
Bananas |
16 |
38 |
Kiwi |
14 |
39 |
Asparagus |
11 |
40 |
Sweet Peas-Frozen |
11 |
41 |
Mango |
9 |
42 |
Pineapples |
7 |
43 |
Sweet Corn-Frozen |
2 |
44 |
Avocado |
1 |
45 (best) |
Onions |
1 (lowest pesticide load) |
Note: We ranked a total of 43 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.
The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2004.
EWG is a not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to improving public health and protecting the environment by reducing pollution in air, water and food. For more information please visit www.ewg.org.