"The Dirty Dozen" - List of Top Contaminated Foods

The "dirty dozen" are the most commonly and highly contaminated foods with pesticides and chemicals, even after washing and peeling.

Eating organically grown food is a clear, intelligent, delicious choice. Finding and affording only organic food is sometimes tough. We do the best we can.

Certain foods are worth the extra effort, or worth simply avoiding when organic is not available.

The research used to compile this list is from extensive independent tests run by the FDA and the USDA from more than 100,000 samples of food. The chemical pesticides detected in these studies are known to cause:
  • cancer 
  • birth defects
  • nervous system damage
  • brain damage 
  • developmental problems in children.
Chronic health effects may occur years after even minimal exposure to pesticides in the environment, or result from the pesticide residues which we ingest through our food and water.

15 Top Foods You Don't Have to Buy Organic

Nearly all of the data used took into account how people typically wash and prepare produce - for example, apples were washed and bananas peeled before testing. Of the fruit and vegetable categories tested, the following "Clean 15" foods had the lowest pesticide load, and consequently are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume from the standpoint of pesticide contamination:
  1. Avocados 
  2. Sweet corn (non-GMO)
  3. Pineapples 
  4. Cabbage 
  5. Sweet peas (frozen) 
  6. Onions 
  7. Asparagus 
  8. Mangoes 
  9. Papayas 
  10. Kiwi 
  11. Eggplant 
  12. Grapefruit 
  13. Cantaloupe (domestic) 
  14. Cauliflower 
  15. Sweet potatoes 
To this list, I would add one caveat: When it comes to pesticide use, there is more to consider than just the residues that are ingested by the consumer. 

Although peeled foods such as mangoes, avocadoes and kiwis may spare the consumer from significant pesticide exposure, it is possible that large amounts of pesticides and herbicides are used on the farms from which these originate, contaminating groundwater, promoting erosion and otherwise damaging local ecosystems. 

To help promote the health of the planet as well as your own health, it's best to buy organic whenever possible, including when you are purchasing the foods listed above.
Eating fresh produce is the best way to obtain the nutrients that support optimum health, but the pesticides used on many crops remain a major health concern. By choosing organic foods, you can reap the health benefits of fruits and vegetables without exposing yourself and your family to potentially harmful chemicals. 

Pesticides present real health risks, particularly to children and those with health concerns. The toxicity most commonly associated with pesticides in animal studies include disruptions in the normal functioning of the nervous and endocrine system, and increased risks of cancer.

Foods You Should Always Buy Organic
The Dirty Dozen 
The Dirty Dozen—Contaminated Foods

The following "Dirty Dozen" had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions - or to grow them organically yourself.

FDA and USDA research shows high levels of pesticide and chemicals in these commonly contaminated foods:


1. Beef, Pork and Poultry 

The EPA reports that meat is contaminated with higher levels of pesticides than any plant food. Many chemical pesticides are fat-soluble and accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals. Animal feed that contains animal products compounds the accumulation, which is directly passed to the human consumer.

Antibiotics, drugs, and hormones are a standard in animal husbandry, all of which accumulate and are passed on to consumers as well. Ocean fish carry a higher risk for heavy metals than pesticides, though many freshwater fish are exposed to high levels of pesticides from contaminated water.

Plus these which may contain organophosphate insecticides, which EWG characterizes as "highly toxic" and of special concern.

2. Milk, Cheese and Butter 

For reasons similar to those for meat, the fat in dairy products poses a high risk for contamination by pesticides. Animals concentrate pesticides and chemicals in their milk and meat. Growth hormones and antibiotics are also serious concerns and are invariably found in commercial milk, cheese, and butter.

3. Strawberries, Raspberries and Cherries

Strawberries are the crop that is most heavily dosed with pesticides in America. On average, 300 pounds of pesticides are applied to every acre of strawberries (compared to an average of 25 pounds per acre for other foods). Thirty-six different pesticides are commonly used on strawberries, and 90% of strawberries tested register pesticide contamination above safe levels.

Raspberries trump strawberries with the application of 39 chemicals: 58% of the raspberries tested registered positive for contamination. Cherries are almost as dodgy with 25 pesticides and 91% contamination.


4. Apples and Pears 

With 36 different chemicals detected in FDA testing, half of which are neurotoxins (meaning they cause brain damage), apples are almost as contaminated as strawberries.

Ninety-one percent of apples tested positive for pesticide residue. Peeling nonorganic apples reduces but does not eliminate the danger of ingesting these chemicals. Pears rank hazardously near apples with 35 pesticides and 94% contamination.

5. Tomatoes 

It's standard practice for more than 30 pesticides to be sprayed on conventionally grown tomatoes. The thin skin does not stop chemicals from infiltrating the whole tomato, so peeling won't help you here.

6. Potatoes 

Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, but they also rank among the most contaminated with pesticides and fungicides. Twenty-nine pesticides are commonly used, and 79% of potatoes tested exceed safe levels of multiple pesticides.

7. Spinach and Other Greens

 The FDA found spinach to be the vegetable most frequently contaminated with the most potent pesticides used on food. Eighty-three percent of the conventionally grown spinach tested was found to be contaminated with dangerous levels of at least some of the 36 chemical pesticides commonly used to grow it.