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Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce Full Data Set

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has produced a Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2005. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing the rankings is available as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that have been tested.

EWG is a not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to improving public health and protecting the environment by reducing pollution in air, water and food. For more information please visit www.ewg.org.

This is the full data set used to generate the guide.

    Test Results: Complete Data Set

Rank (worst to best)

Commodity

Combined Score

Percentage of Samples
Tested with Detectable Pesticides

Percentage of Samples
With Two or More Pesticides

Average Number of Pesticides Found on a Sample

Average Amount (in ppm*) of All Pesticides Found

Maximum Number of Pesticides Found on a Single Sample

Number of Pesticides Found on the Commodity in Total
1 Peaches 100 96.6% 86.6% 3.1 1.134 9 42
2 Apples 96 93.6% 82.3% 2.8 0.894 9 50
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86 81.5% 62.2% 2.4 0.138 11 64
4 Celery 85 94.1% 79.8% 3.0 0.413 9 30
5 Nectarines 84 97.3% 85.3% 3.0 0.576 7 26
6 Strawberries 83 92.3% 69.2% 2.3 0.799 8 38
7 Cherries 75 91.4% 75.8% 2.8 0.290 7 25
8 Lettuce 69 68.2% 44.2% 1.7 0.142 9 57
9 Grapes - Imported 68 84.2% 53.2% 1.8 0.284 8 37
10 Pears 65 86.2% 45.7% 1.6 0.586 6 33
11 Spinach 60 70.0% 31.2% 1.1 1.240 6 24
12 Potatoes 58 81.0% 18.0% 1.0 1.655 4 18
13 Carrots 57 81.7% 48.3% 1.6 0.046 6 31
14 Green Beans 55 67.6% 42.0% 1.4 0.199 6 35
15 Hot Peppers 53 55.0% 27.5% 1.0 0.290 6 51
16 Cucumbers 52 72.5% 31.7% 1.2 0.057 6 40
17 Raspberries 47 47.9% 23.3% 0.9 0.906 6 21
18 Plums 46 74.0% 27.1% 1.1 0.666 4 15
19 Oranges 46 85.1% 34.6% 1.3 0.100 4 18
20 Grapes - Domestic 46 60.5% 23.4% 0.9 0.104 7 31
21 Cauliflower 39 84.6% 14.6% 1.0 0.004 5 15
22 Tangerines 38 66.7% 33.3% 1.2 0.375 3 4
23 Mushrooms 37 60.2% 22.3% 0.9 0.158 5 16
24 Cantaloupe 34 53.3% 19.4% 0.8 0.026 4 25
25 Lemon 31 55.6% 10.0% 0.7 0.188 5 10

26

 Honeydew Melon 31 59.2% 14.2% 0.8 0.012 4 16
27 Grapefruit 31 62.9% 15.2% 0.8 0.056 4 9
28 Winter Squash 31 41.3% 11.6% 0.6 0.017 5 26
29 Tomatoes 30 46.9% 13.5% 0.6 0.029 5 16
30 Sweet Potatoes 30 58.4% 10.0% 0.7 0.198 3 17
31 Watermelons 25 38.5% 13.2% 0.6 0.021 4 13
32 Blueberries 24 27.5% 10.0% 0.4 0.327 4 11
33 Papaya 21 23.5% 5.0% 0.3 0.053 4 19
34 Eggplant 19 23.4% 6.9% 0.3 0.013 4 15
35 Broccoli 18 28.1% 3.2% 0.3 0.004 3 19
36 Cabbage 17 17.9% 4.8% 0.2 0.121 3 18
37 Bananas 16 41.7% 2.0% 0.4 0.029 2 7
38 Kiwi 14 15.3% 3.4% 0.2 0.160 3 8

39

 Asparagus 11 6.7% 0.6% 0.1 0.026 2 19
40 Sweet Peas - Frozen 11 22.9% 2.3% 0.3 0.010 2 5
41 Mango 9 7.1% 0.5% 0.1 0.057 2 13
42 Pineapples 7 7.7% 0.6% 0.1 0.002 2 7
43 Sweet Corn - Frozen 2 3.8% 0.0% 0.0 0.005 1 3
44 Avocado 1 1.4% 0.0% 0.0 0.001 1 2
45 Onions 1 0.2% 0.0% 0.0 0.000 1 2

Note: We ranked a total of 44 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.

* ppm means parts per million

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Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce by
Environmental Working Group is licensed under a
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