The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released their annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. The guide includes the Dirty Dozen list of the twelve fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticide residues and the Clean Fifteen list of produce with the lowest pesticide levels. 

Met by both cheers and jeers, the annual guide is often embraced by organic food shoppers, but panned by some health professionals and researchers who question the scientific rigor behind the lists. Let’s dive deeper into the evidence to help you make confident and safe choices when grocery shopping for fruits and vegetables.

Which fruits and vegetables are safest?

The premise of the EWG Guide is to help consumers understand which fruits and vegetables have the most or least pesticide residues.

Thomas Galligan, Ph.D., a toxicologist with the EWG explains that the Dirty Dozen is not a list of fruits and vegetables to avoid. Rather, the EWG recommends that consumers choose organic versions of these twelve "Dirty Dozen" items, if available and affordable: 

• Strawberries

• Spinach

• Kale, collards, and mustard greens

• Nectarines

• Apples

• Grapes

• Bell and hot peppers

• Cherries

• Peaches

• Pears

• Celery

• Tomatoes

But if you can’t access or afford organic versions of these foods, the conventionally-grown ones are safe and healthy too. That point is often misunderstood – but it’s important to note.

“Fruits and vegetables are a fundamental part of a healthy diet,” says Galligan. “Everyone should be eating more produce, whether conventional or organic, because the benefits of a diet high in fruits and vegetables outweigh the potential harms of pesticide exposures.”

So, do you need to choose organic?

The EWG advises consumers to choose organic produce whenever possible, especially for items on the Dirty Dozen list. Not everyone agrees with this advice.

“The EWG is an activist agency, not a government one,” says Langer. “This means that the EWG has an agenda, which is to promote the industries it is funded by - namely, organic food producers.”

Ultimately, the choice is yours as the grocery shopper. Choose what you can afford, access and enjoy, but don’t fear fruits and vegetables that are conventionally grown.