The 12 Most Contaminated Fruits & Veggies
The Enviromental Working Group (EWG), a not-for-profit consumer activist organization, evaluated government data on 43 fruits and veggies to assess pesticide 
residues. The EWG estimates that you can cut your pesticide exposure risk by as much as 90% if you concentrate your organic dollars on the most contaminated products. Check out their website for full details on the ranking system.
Here are the Top 12 Contaminated Fruits and Veggies:
peaches
apples
sweet bell peppers
celery
nectarines
strawberries
cherries
pears
grapes
lettuce
potatoes
Here are the 12 Least Contaminated Fruits and Veggies:
onions
avocados
sweet corn (frozen)
pineapples
mangoes
asparagus
sweet peas
kiwifruit
bananas
cabbage
broccoli
papaya
Whether you choose to purchase organic foods or not, it is recommended that you follow the following tips to reduce your risk of contamination:
1. Always wash your hands before and after handling raw products
2. Rinse produce thoroughly under running water
3. Do not place any produce near uncooked meat, fish or poultry
4. Remove the outer leaves of lettuce or greens
5. Consider cutting up your own fruits and vegetables instead of buying them already cut
Taken from Enviromental Nutrition Newsletter, June 07
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July 13th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Hi Martha,
I really enjoy the content found on citygirlbites!
With regard to the subject of contaminated fruits and vegetables, I noticed that they now sell a detergent solution specifically for washing produce. Do you believe this is more effective than a thorough scrub with warm water or are the marketers just taking advantage of public reports of foodborne illnesses?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
Dustin
July 19th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
[...] The following tips were taken from medicine.net on proper cleaning and handling of fresh produce (similar info was provided in my previous post on contaminated fruits and veggies): [...]
May 8th, 2008 at 4:51 am
[...] imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach and strawberries. Check out this previous post for more info on the most and least contaminated fruits and veggies - and how to clean [...]