Environmental Working Group 2023

Each year, the Environmental Working Group does tests on fruits and vegetables for pesticides.  This year’s list came out in March 2023. I paid for my list and I am happy to share that list with you here:

Full List

The Shopper’s Guide™ represents EWG’s analysis of the latest fruit and vegetable testing data from the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. The 2023 guide includes data from 46,569 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables.

Dirty Dozen™

Of the 46 items included in our analysis, these 12 fruits and vegetables were most contaminated with pesticides.

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, collard & mustard greens
4. Peaches
5. Pears
6. Nectarines
7. Apples
8. Grapes
9. Bell & hot Peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green Beans

Tested for, but not on either list

These 19 items were included in the fruit and vegetable testing data from the USDA and FDA but do not fall into either the Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen lists.

13. Tomatoes
14. Winter squash
15. Celery
16. Potatoes
17. Cherry Tomatoes
18. Lettuce
19. Tangerines
20. Cucumbers
21. Broccoli
22. Summer squash*
23. Plums
24. Eggplant
25. Raspberries
26. Grapefruit
27. Snap Peas
28. Oranges
29. Cantaloupe
30. Bananas
31. Cauliflower

Clean 15™

These 15 items had the lowest amounts of pesticide residues, according to EWG’s analysis of the most recent USDA data.

32. Carrots
33. Watermelon
34. Sweet Potatoes
35. Mangoes
36. Mushrooms
37. Cabbage
38. Kiwi
39. Honeydew melon
40. Asparagus
41. Sweet peas (frozen)
42. Papaya*
43. Onions
44. Pineapple
45. Sweet corn*
46. Avocados

* A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from genetically modified seeds. Buy organic.

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Please share this list with people you care about.

Till next time,

Please be kind to everyone you meet, for we all have our hidden sorrows. ~Tzaddi, aka Dr. Pam Young, PhD