Celery is the new dirtiest vegetable

Celery bumps peaches out of the top spot in the Environmental Working Group’s updated Dirty Dozen list.

Thu, Apr 29 2010 at 8:56 AM

Related Topics:

Organic Foods, Toxins & Chemicals, Food Safety

photo: dowbiggin/Flickr

By now, you’ve probably heard about Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen produce list. The list ranks fruits and vegetables by the amount of pesticide residue found on them, and the 12 most residue laden ones have been named the “Dirty Dozen.” By purchasing these fruits and vegetables in their organic form, EWG says, consumers can drastically reduce their exposure to harmful pesticides.

The list has been updated for 2010, and Yahoo! Green has the new Dirty Dozen list. EWG’s website says the entire list, from the Dirty Dozen at the top to the Clean Fifteen at the bottom will be updated soon.

Celery, moved up from number four to claim the dirtiest title, bumping peaches down to number two. Sixty-four difficult to wash-off chemicals were found in celery. Bumped completely out of the top 12 were carrots and pears, and potatoes and blueberries moved into the Dirty Dozen.

Here’s the entire new Dirty Dozen along with the number of chemicals found in each when grown conventionally.

Celery - 64
Peaches - 62
Strawberries - 59
Apples - 42
Blueberries - 52
Nectarines - 33
Bell Peppers - 49
Spinach - 48
Kale - unreported
Cherries - 42
Potatoes - 37
Grapes – 34

Aside from buying organic, is there any other way you can still enjoy these fruits and vegetables? Sure. You can grow your own or you can buy from local producers that you know minimize the amounts of pesticides used when they grow their produce. That takes asking questions at farm markets, roadside stands and farmers markets.

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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Comments: 4

greatscott Feb 24 2011 at 9:34 PM

Anything grown by a super farm or Industrial food producer is Un-safe. Since pesticides have been used in the soil for so long, the pesticide is embedded in the soil. It becomes embedded in the cells in the fruit or produce. I do not have an hard facts to back up my claim, that is my educated opinion. In the long run, it is my opinion that organic food is cheaper because you will not become sick as often and far less likely to get cancer. Cancer cells are in all of us. If you do not get the

.... More

proper nutrition from the minerals and vitamins found in healthy food, cancer cells have a greater chance of mutating into malignant cells. Produce, fruit and vegtables are irardiated before being sent to your grocery store shelf. When food is irradiated, it kills the vitamins and protein. You are essentially eating dead food, which has little nutritional value. Buying food at the farmers market, even if it is not organic, buying organic from the store is the only way you can be assured of not buying irradiated food. Since I do not trust the FDA, I buy as much as I can direct from local farmers who I form a relationship with and develop trust with. Grow as much as you can using heirloom seeds and plant different variety's of each vegtable in case of a blight. Remember the Irish potato blight in the 1700's? Happy gardening and good health everyone. Remember, you are what you eat!

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C Feb 24 2011 at 8:44 PM

But are there any good suggestions for cleaning this stuff off? I won't go completely organic yet because of prices here and there are a few vegetables here that for some reason I prefer non-organic. Not sure if it is the varieties offered or what...

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jay Feb 25 2011 at 3:33 PM

clean your fruit and vegetables with a water vinegar mixture it kills most all germs and residue from pesticides on the surface. I can't say it will help with any pesticides that permeate the outer surface of the food though