Your favorite veggie may be packed with pesticides

An estimated 800 million pounds of spinach is sold in the US annually, and why not? It’s packed with vitamins and minerals, and can benefit the heart, brain, bone strength, and vision. If I had a dollar for each time spinach was included in my smoothie, my wallet would be a lot fatter.

However, there’s troubling news for this antioxidant powerhouse. Spinach was found to have "more pesticide residues by weight than any other type of produce," according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Annually, the EWG releases its “Dirty Dozen” list ranking fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticide residues, based on USDA and FDA testing. A whopping 75% of non-organic samples contained a neurotoxic and endocrine-disrupting insecticide banned in Europe.

Other items joining spinach on the list are kale and mustard greens, blueberries, apples, and blackberries. But if you like avocados, pineapple, and bananas, you’re in luck, because they’re on EWG’s “Clean Fifteen” list of items with the least amount of pesticide residues.

To minimize pesticide exposure, the EWG recommends choosing organic produce whenever possible, especially for children and pregnant women.

To learn where your favorite fruits and veggies landed on the “naughty or nice” lists, check out this article from Delish:
https://www.delish.com/food-news/a65035557/dirty-dozen-list-2025/