The Environmental Working Group released its seventh annual “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15″ lists Monday, signifying those fruits and vegetables with the most and least pesticide residue upon peeling and washing. Dirty Dozen toppers like apples (#1 up from #4), celery, strawberries, peaches and the rest on this list are better bought organic, the group says, while Clean 15s like onions, sweet corn and pineapple are safe bought conventionally.
It’s good to note which produce are more chemically absorbent, but really, they’re all a little dirty in our minds. We’d say go organic whenever possible, but a general rule of thumb is that it’s best not to eat the skin of a conventional fruit or vegetable—of course, pineapples and other inedible-skinned produce don’t have that problem. The complete list can be viewed on the EWG’s website, where you can also print it out as a .PDF.
