Bananas and cauliflower have joined this year’s ‘clean fifteen’, while blackberries and potatoes have ended up on the ‘dirty dozen’ list, with worrying levels of chemical residues.
The Shopper’s Guide, produced annually by US NGO the Environmental Working Group, assesses Department of Agriculture data on pesticide residues found on many popular fruits and vegetables.
EWG updated the methodology used for this year’s guide in order to reflect toxicity – pesticides’ ability to cause harm – in addition to frequency and concentrations.
As well as bananas and cauliflower, avocados, papaya, pineapple and onions made the clean fifteen list, representing those items with the least amount of pesticide residue.
In total, more than 50 different pesticides were found on samples from each of the dirty dozen fruits and vegetables, except for cherries. Every commodity except potatoes had on average four or more pesticides detected on individual samples.
For potatoes, new USDA data revealed that 90% of samples contained chlorpropham, a sprout inhibitor used post-harvest which has been banned for over five years in the EU due to health concerns both for farmers and consumers.
“By incorporating pesticide toxicity into our rankings, we give shoppers a more complete picture of what’s on their produce,” said Varun Subramaniam, EWG associate scientist. “This means we’re not only flagging produce with the most pesticides, we’re also highlighting those with potential health hazards.”
The 2025 guide analyses pesticide residue data from USDA tests of more than 53,000 samples of 47 fruits and vegetables. Before testing, produce samples are washed, scrubbed or peeled, as is typical for each type of produce. Even after these steps, pesticide residues were still detected. But washing fruits and vegetables remains an important step to reduce pesticide levels, dirt, and possible bacterial contamination.
EWG recommended that shoppers seeking fresh produce with low pesticide residues buy organic versions of items on its dirty dozen and either organic or conventional versions of produce on the clean fifteen. “There are also many organic and clean fifteen options in the frozen food aisle,” said senior scientist Alexa Friedman.
