Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 List for 2014

The new Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 Lists have been released for 2014.  I have been waiting for this list because it is such a handy guide to know where to invest the extra bucks into organic produce.  I buy a lot of organic but it can often be a lot more expensive then conventional so this list is a a great resource.

This is a list of produce items that tend to have the highest levels of pesticide residue (even after being washed and peeled). So if you are interested in organics, these products are the ones that you want to focus on (in order of importance).

Here is the Dirty Dozen- this is where you want to spend the extra money on organic produce whenever possible:

1. Apples
2. Strawberries
3. Grapes
4. Celery
5. Peaches
6. Spinach
7. Sweet Bell Peppers
8. Nectarines-imported
9. Cucumbers
10. Cherry Tomatoes
11. Snap Peas-imported
12. Potatoes

And there is also a Dirty Dozen Plus- these items are not on the Dirty Dozen list but still something to try to find in organic if you can:

1. Hot Peppers
2. Kale/Collared Greens

And here is the Clean 15 list for 2014.  These are the items with the least amount of pestiside contamination found so these are not as high of a priority when buying organic.

I am so glad to see corn on this list as the prices get as low as $.20 in my area 🙂  Who says it is too expensive to eat good food?

1. Avocados
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapple
4. Cabbage
5. Sweet Peas-Frozen
6. Onions
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Papayas
10. Kiwi
11. Eggplant
12. Grapefruit
13. Cantaloupe
14. Cauliflower
15. Sweet Potatoes

You can see more research and data from the Environmental Working Group here.

And if you do buy conventional produce, here is a simple DIY produce spray you can make yourself:

And if you ever get confused in the cereal aisle about what brand is the best choice for your children, here is a great study from the EWG on which brands contain the least amount of sugar and the most sugar.