Blueberries, are known to be one of the healthiest fruits loved by foodies and nutritionists.
This is owing to their anti-inflammatory properties lp protect against aging, cancer and damage to your DNA.”
have joined fiber-rich green beans in this year’s 2023 Dirty Dozen of nonorganic produce with the most pesticides,
This is according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental health organization.
In the 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, researchers analyzed testing data on 46,569 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables conducted by the US Department of Agriculture.
Each year, a rotating list of produce is tested by USDA staffers who wash, peel or scrub fruits and vegetables as consumers would before the food is examined for 251 different pesticides.
What’s on the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list
As at 2022, strawberries and spinach were on the top two spots on the Dirty Dozen, followed by three greens — kale, collard and mustard.
Listed next were peaches, pears, nectarines, apples, grapes, bell and hot peppers, and cherries.
Blueberries and green beans were 11th and 12th on the list.
A total of 210 pesticides were found on the 12 foods.
According to the report, kale, collard and mustard greens contained the largest number of different pesticides, this is about 103 types and they were followed by hot and bell peppers at 101.
“Some of the USDA’s tests show traces of pesticides long since banned by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The report is however suggesting that much stricter federal regulation and oversight of these chemicals is needed.
A former senior vice president of research for EWG, Jane Houlihan, who was not involved in the report, has however declared that “Pesticides are toxic by design”.
Her words, “They are intended to harm living organisms, and this inherent toxicity has implications for children’s health, including potential risk for hormone dysfunction, cancer, and harm to the developing brain and nervous system.”
Houlihan is now research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures, an organization dedicated to reducing babies’ exposures to neurotoxic chemicals.
