The Dirty Dozen

The dirty dozen are the fruits and vegetables that carry the most pesticide residue. When deciding which organic produce to purchase, you should consider buying these first.

apples
bell peppers
celery
cherries
grapes
nectarines
peaches
pears
potatoes
raspberries
spinach
strawberries

In an ideal world, all my produce would be organic. But the biggest bang for my buck would lie in making the items on this list my organic purchases. I'd have a negligible advantage in purchasing the organic version of most other produce. Why? In the case of bananas, for example, the thick skin, which comes off completely, prevents the "meat" of the banana from absorbing the pesticide.

I recently saw on the "Today Show" that apples were the worst pesticide carriers because of the amount of chemical sprays they "require". I'll be back with a report on the veracity of that claim.

All produce should be washed thoroughly, regardless of whether they're organic. My next post will feature an easy-to-make produce wash that will get rid of most of the residual pesticides.