When Is It Best To Choose Organic Produce?

My wife and I love having fresh fruit and vegetables in the house, but we hate paying a lot for them. Sometimes it’s worth paying higher prices, though, to get cleaner produce.

Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out a list of the twelve fruits and vegetables that contain the most pesticides. They call it the “Dirty Dozen.” In other words, this is the produce to buy from the organic section:

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

The EWG also has an annual list that tells us the top fifteen kinds of produce that are sold with “few, if any” pesticide residues. Here’s the “Clean Fifteen” for 2019:

1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbages
5. Onions
6. Sweet peas (frozen)
7. Papayas
8. Asparagus
9. Mangoes
10. Eggplants
11. Honeydew melons
12. Kiwis
13. Cantaloupes
14. Cauliflower
15. Broccoli