The Environmental Working Group releases their 'Dirty Dozen' list for produce pesticide contamination.
With overwhelming food choices and infinite information, it's hard to make decisions about the food we buy from supermarkets.
The Environmental Working Group recently released their yearly list of grocery store produce items that are known to contain the most chemicals.
Know as the ‘Dirty Dozen” list, the organization compiles the list by analyzing over 28,000 food samples. Landing the number one spot is apples. Strawberries rank in at two, followed by grapes, celery, peaches and spinach.
Potatoes, cherry tomatoes and hot peppers came in at the bottom of list. Whereas, cucumbers, nectarines and sweet bell peppers landed in the middle.
Experts suggest washing such food thoroughly to reduce any harmful effects from pesticide. Or you can always buy the organically-grown produce for such foods.
For those indulging in mushrooms, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, grapefruit, sweet corn and kiwi can feel little better knowing that these supermarket produce items made it on the top of the clean list, labeling them as the products with the least amount of pesticides.