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the ewg’s shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce , first released in 2004, ranks the pesticide content of 46 popular fruit and vegetables even after they are “washed, peeled or scrubbed.” this data is taken from tests carried out by the u.s. department of agriculture and food and drug administration, which tests a subsection of both domestic and imported produce every year.
spinach sits in the second spot as “most contaminated,” followed by kale, collard and mustard greens (ranked together), as well as nectarines and apples. kale, collard and mustard greens showed residues of 103 different pesticides in the usda samples, the most out of any detected according to the ewg. this reportedly included the pesticide dcpa (dacthal), banned by the eu in 2009 for posing a risk of leaching into groundwater. (the canadian government undertook a similar review in 2017, and came to the conclusion there is “no risks of concern” from the three dacthal-containing products approved for use in canada. a maximum yearly use rate was added to the conditions of use for these products.)
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grapes, bell and hot peppers, cherries, peaches, pears, celery and tomatoes finished off the rest of the dirty dozen, a list that remained virtually unchanged from 2021 .
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the environmental working group’s close financial ties to various organic producers, opposition to genetically modified produce and methods of ranking pesticide exposure has earned the group some criticism.
iris myers, an ewg spokesperson reportedly said that companies are not allowed to sponsor the shopper’s guide and dirty dozen rankings, according to webmd . this undertaking, she said, is funded through grants and individual donors.
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previously, the ewg’s ranking system was based on the presence of pesticides and did not include the concentration or amount of pesticides found on the crop. however, this is included in modern rankings, with the “ average amount of pesticides found , in parts per million” being ranked alongside other factors like the “total number of pesticides found on the crop” and “per cent of samples with two or more detectable pesticides.”
the group notes they do not factor in tolerance levels as approved by the u.s. environmental protection agency, and weighs all pesticides equally. this is done to “capture the uncertainty” around pesticides as “research constantly provides new insights into the threats pesticides pose to human and environmental health.”
