[Southern California Permaculture] Environmental Working Group's 2019 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

Wed Mar 20 00:32:09 PDT 2019

Environmental Working Group's 2019 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2019

Nearly 70 percent of the produce sold in the U.S. comes with pesticide residues, according to EWG’s analysis of test data from the Department of Agriculture for our 2019 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™.

The most surprising news from the USDA tests reveals that the popular health food kale is among the most contaminated fruits and vegetables. More than 92 percent of kale samples had two or more pesticide residues detected, and a single sample could contain up to 18 different residues. The most frequently detected pesticide, found on nearly 60 percent of kale samples, was Dacthal, or DCPA – classified by the Environmental Protection Agency since 1995 as a possible human carcinogen, and prohibited for use in Europe since 2009.

Overall, the USDA found 225 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on popular fruits and vegetables Americans eat every day. Before testing, all produce was washed and peeled, just as people would prepare food for themselves, which shows that simple washing does not remove all pesticides.

The USDA had not tested kale for almost a decade. But even as its popularity as a food rich in vitamins and antioxidants has soared, the level and number of pesticide residues found on kale has increased significantly. EWG’s analysis places kale third on this year’s Dirty Dozen™, our annual ranking of the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides.

EWG's Dirty Dozen for 2019:

 1.      Strawberries
 2.      Spinach
 3.      Kale
 4.      Nectarines
 5.      Apples
 6.      Grapes
 7.      Peaches
 8.      Cherries
 9.      Pears
10.      Tomatoes
11.      Celery
12.      Potatoes