The 2023 Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Pesticide Food Guide – Part II

This week we will look at the Clean Fifteen produce, or the produce with the lowest amount of pesticide residue. Also, for health reasons, we will look at the toxicity of what is sprayed on our food.

The following includes the Clean Fifteen produce list, which features the produce with the lowest amount of pesticide residue. #1 is avocado, #2 sweet corn, #3 pineapple, #4 onions, #5 papaya, #6 frozen sweet peas, #7 asparagus, #8 honeydew melon. #9 kiwi, #10 cabbage, #11 mushrooms, #12 mangoes, #13 sweet potatoes, #14 watermelon and #15 carrots. 

The top takeaways from the Clean Fifteen were that almost 65% of them had no detectable pesticide residues at all, and avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest, with less than 2%. Just over 10% had residues of two or more pesticides, while no samples from the first 6 items were positive for more than 3 pesticides. That’s a huge difference between the two lists.

In contrast, from the Dirty Dozen list, one sample of kale contained 18 different pesticides, while more than 92% had at least two or more residues. Those tests on kale also revealed that about 60% of the samples tested positive for DCPA or Dacthal, which has been classified as a human carcinogen and has been prohibited on crops in Europe since 2009. We have always been told that all we have to do to avoid pesticides is to wash our produce. However, it is important to note that these studies were done on produce not only washed, but also peeled.

What’s more, in 2018 the report linked the high pesticide residues in produce to infertility in men and women alike. This is no small concern, because the USDA and California Dept of Pesticide Regulation are showing that the sperm counts of men in North America, Australia, Europe and New Zealand have dropped 50% in under 40 years.

You know, it’s worth a minute to talk about strawberries, because they are a real favorite for most people and strawberry season is here. I’ve often heard it is not only because of the small size and increased surface area, but also because of the pitted nature of the berry where pesticides can concentrate that make the fruit more “dirty.”

Most of our strawberries are grown in CA, where about 30 lbs. of pesticides are used on each acre of strawberry fields. To give you an idea of how much that really is, 5 lbs. per acre is used on corn. In addition, 9 million lbs. of poisonous fumigation gases are injected into strawberry fields before planting. This not only kills pests, but also beneficial microbes in the soil. It is part of a sterilization process.

Now you may have a better understanding as to why organics are so important at times. Why wouldn’t we want to avoid dozens of chemical pesticides linked to all kinds of health problems and as known obesogens which are chemicals used in non-organic foods known to disrupt hormonal systems and actually make weight loss more difficult. You may not realize this, but more than 3,000 high-risk toxins, including pesticides, are excluded by law from certified organic products - 3000!

Google the Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen for 2023 and keep a copy of it on your phone or in your car for when you go grocery shopping.

Take charge of your health by taking charge of what you eat and educating yourself, because losing weight is about much more than food.