Organic Food - List of Foods with Pesticide Residue Levels

Most often, some people choose organic foods because they want to lower their exposure to pesticides. For these people, it makes sense to know which conventionally grown foods are good enough because they are low in pesticide residue.

Not all fruits and vegetables grown with conventional farming methods contain high level of pesticides, some simply don't absorb pesticides. The Environment Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization in Washington, has conducted tests on foods to determine which fruits and vegetables contain the highest pesticide residue. The list is given below.

As you can see the Peaches and Apples have the highest level of pesticide residue, while Onion and Avocado absorb the least amount of pesticide. So if you are on a budget, you can focus on organic foods that absorbs in a lot of pesticides when grown using conventional farming methods.

According to the EWG, the toxic effect of pesticides are still largely unknown, and therefore, consumers are advised to minimise exposure to them.

Although rinsing fresh fruits and vegetables will likely to reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them totally. While peeling also reduces exposures, substantial amount valuable nutrients may be lost, for example apples. Nevertheless, the best approach is to wash all fruits and vegetables, and choose organic where possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.

RANK -- FRUIT OR VEGGIE -- SCORE

1 (worst) -- Peaches -- 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 -- Apples -- 96
3 -- Sweet Bell Peppers -- 86
4 -- Celery -- 85
5 -- Nectarines -- 84
6 -- Strawberries -- 83
7 -- Cherries -- 75
8 -- Lettuce -- 69
9 -- Grapes (Imported) -- 68
10 -- Pears -- 65
11 -- Spinach -- 60
12 -- Potatoes -- 58
13 -- Carrots -- 57
14 -- Green Beans -- 55
15 -- Hot Peppers -- 53
16 -- Cucumbers -- 52
17 -- Raspberries -- 47
18 -- Plums -- 46
19 -- Oranges -- 46
20 -- Grapes (Domestic) -- 46
21 -- Cauliflower -- 39
22 -- Tangerine -- 38
23 -- Mushrooms -- 37
24 -- Cantaloupe -- 34
25 -- Lemon -- 31
26 -- Honeydew Melon -- 31
27 -- Grapefruit -- 31
28 -- Winter Squash -- 31
29 -- Tomatoes -- 30
30 -- Sweet Potatoes -- 30
31 -- Watermelon -- 25
32 -- Blueberries -- 24
33 -- Papaya -- 21
34 -- Eggplant -- 19
35 -- Broccoli -- 18
36 -- Cabbage -- 17
37 -- Bananas -- 16
38 -- Kiwi -- 14
39 -- Asparagus -- 11
40 -- Sweet Peas-Frozen -- 11
41 -- Mango -- 9
42 -- Pineapples -- 7
43 -- Sweet Corn (Frozen) -- 2
44 -- Avocado -- 1
45 (best) -- Onions -- 1 (lowest pesticide load)


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