With the New Year here and in full swing, the produce section of your local store is in the back of most people’s mind. Goodluck finding kale this week! I wanted to take this opportunity to share some produce secrets with you. Fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of the SCD diet, and provide key vitamins and nutrients. However, over the years more and more pesticides have been added to improve yields and appearance. So how do you know what produce is pesticide full or pesticide free? Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases a dirty dozen and clean fifteen list. This list provides the public with the information of the most and least pesticide contaminated produce. The EWG analyzes 47 produce varieties using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Program.
Now onto the good stuff. Here is your 2020 list of the dirty dozen and clean fifteen:
Dirty Dozen:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Cherries
- Pears
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Potatoes
Clean 15:
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet peas (frozen)
- Eggplants
- Asparagus
- Cauliflower
- Cantaloupes
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Cabbage
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwifruit
Of course, if you can splurge to buy organic that will be the most pesticide free, but if you’re like me and on a budget and can’t always buy organic, knowing which non-organic produce is clean can be very helpful. It is important to note that some produce listed here is not allowed on the SCD diet, so you don’t need to worry about sweet corn or potatoes.
Also, worth noting, the EWG tested raisins this year for the first time since 2007, and found some shocking conclusions. “Almost every sample of non-organic raisins – 99 percent – had residues of at least two pesticides. On the 2020 Dirty Dozen, raisins would rank worst of all fruits tested, including strawberries, nectarines, apples, and cherries.” I don’t know about you, but after learning that I will only be getting organic raisins!
There are several organizations that disagree with the EWG on these annual lists. The Alliance for Food and Farming’s is one of the most active groups. They even offer a ‘Pesticide Residue Calculator’. This shows the amount of a fruit or vegetable a person would have to eat to reach the Environmental Protection Agency’s minimum risk threshold. Safefruitsandveggies.com provides information on why consuming a mix of organic and non-organic produce is the best option. Whatever your opinion on pesticides, we still do not have enough long-term data to show what pesticides could do to the human body. Learning the facts, and deciding what is best for you is the goal. Check out the full article from Produce Blue Book HERE!
Note: * This is NOT an affiliate post. I do not receive anything for promoting or recommending things. *