The Dirty Dozen: Which Fruits and Veggies Have Most Pesticides?

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Which Fruits and Veggies Have Most Chemicals?

The Environmental Working Group [EWG], has released its latest list of which produce items are most tainted by pesticides. So, before you make your next salad or bite into that tempting fruity morsel, persue this list ...

The EWG's list, entitled The Dirty Dozen Plus, contains 12 of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables that are sold in supermarkets, along with three veggies that contain a fair amount of organophosphate insecticides, which are toxic to the nervous system.

Click through the slideshow to see to which fruits and veggies are the most tainted.

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Some other notes from the study:

-Approximately 98% of conventionally-grown apples have detectable levels of pesticides.
-Domestic blueberries tested positive for 42 different pesticide residues.
-78 different pesticides were found on lettuce samples.
-Every single nectarine the USDA tested had measurable pesticide residues.
-Grapes have more types of pesticides than any other fruit, with 64 different chemicals found in the category altogether.
-13 different pesticides were measured on a single sample celery and of strawberries.

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Having these facts in front of you may encourage you to reconsider your diet, but don't be so hasty yet ... A way to avoid the pesticide levels contained in these particular foods would be to buy their organic counterparts. They may be pricier than the average produce purchase, but at least for these suspect items, it may be worth it to avoid ingesting pesticides.