The “Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen” of Produce
Do you know The “Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen?”
If you do, that’s great. You’ll be well on your way to eating for your best health and wellness now and your future.
If you don’t know them then let me introduce you and help guide you towards eating for your best health and wellness.
The following lists were gathered to help consumers know when they should buy organic and when it isn’t absolutely necessary.
Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) update and rank pesticide contamination for popular fruits and vegetables in a published list called ‘The Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen’. The EWG is an American activist group that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals, drinking water pollutants, and corporate accountability.
EWG is a nonprofit organization, comprised of a group of scientists, researchers and policymakers. Their ‘Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen’ annual list provides us with a fantastic, user friendly, overview of fruits and vegetables that contain the most and least pesticides.
Thanks to their hard work, vigorous research and published ‘user freindly’ findings, we can see at a glance which fruit and vegetables reduce the amount of toxins we consume on a daily basis, called “The Clean 15”
and which produce has the highest amounts of pesticides and other harmful chemicals, called “The Dirty Dozen”.
What’s on the Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen list this year?….
2024 “Clean 15”
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapple
Onions
Papaya
Asparagus
Honeydew melon
Kiwi
Cabbage
Watermelon
Mushrooms
Mangoes
Sweet potatoes
Carrots.
Sweet peas - frozen
2024 “Dirty Dozen”
Strawberries
Spinach
Kale, collard, and mustard greens
Grapes
Peaches
Pears
Nectarines
Apples
Bell and hot peppers
Cherries
Blueberries
Green beans.
The UK organisation Pesticide Action Network (PAN) creates a similar list based on UK data collected by the UK Government Department of Agriculture's Pesticide Residue in Food (PRiF). The difference in PAN UK’s research into the Dirty Dozen 2024 compared to others, is that they focus on produce with multiple pesticide residues. PAN UK does not produce a Clean 15 list. They believe the UK’s government testing programme is so limited, that they don’t want to give the impression that certain fruits & vegetables are free from pesticide residue, when they may not be.
What are pesticides?
In short, pesticides are poisons created to kill living organisms.
When produce is sprayed with pesticides, the risk of those pesticides leaking into the foods we eat and into ourselves is incredibly high. In other words, putting toxins and poisons into our body, while thinking that the foods we’ve chosen to buy and then eat are nutritious and healthy food choices.
The Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen lists were gathered to help you and I, the ‘consumer’ know when to buy organic and when it isn’t always necessary.
Knowing when and what to buy organically grown and when it’s not necessary, can also make a significant difference to both our physical health and financial health.
Choosing to eat seasonally really helps when buying fresh organic produce too. When in season, the price of organic, and indeed, non organic fruit and vegetable’s can notably drop. And then we see the reverse when out of season, with huge price spikes.
Eating seasonally is more environmentally friendly too. There are clear environmental benefits when it comes to choosing 'Local & seasonal'. It means that fruits and vegetables have not had to travel so far to get to us. Particularly when air travel is concerned, therefore reducing the carbon footprint by using less petrol or diesel, air miles and fossil fuels. A win for us and a win for our planet.
Choosing to take action today by supporting ourselves to make healthier food and lifestyle choices, like knowing which fruit and vegetables to buy and then eat on a regular, daily basis, helps towards building and creating a better and happier version of ourselves. Now and for the long term.
If you’d like to learn more about the “Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen” of produce, how to choose the best whole foods for your best health, dietary requirements & needs, or need support with your Health & Wellbeing journey. Please use my contact form to get in touch.
Professionally trained and qualified to support people with their Life’s journey.
Helping you achieve success and fulfilment in all areas of your life. Best wishes always - Julie