Grocery shoppers should be wary of pesticide residues on these produce

A non-profit group is asking grocery shoppers precautions about pesticide residues in produce.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) released The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce based on the analysis of the latest fruit and vegetable testing data from the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration.

The guide’s Dirty Dozen includes fruits and vegetables that were most contaminated with pesticide residues, and Clean Fifteen is a list of items that had the lowest amounts of residues.

The Dirty Dozen lists fruits of popular choice for grocery shoppers such as strawberries, grapes, peaches, pears, nectarines, apples, as well as cherries and blueberries. Greens like spinach, kale, bell peppers, and green beans also appeared as part of the precaution list.

On the opposite, Clean Fifteen includes fruits like mangoes, watermelons, kiwis, honeydew melons, papaya, and pineapple, whereas mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and vegetables like cabbage, asparagus, frozen sweet peas, onions, sweet corns, and avocados also made names to the list.

“Most pesticide residues found by the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration on fresh produce fall below government limits and thus are legal,” said EWG, adding “but legal limits don’t always represent what’s safe for human consumption.”

BY HOONSIK WOO    [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]