Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen 2019: These Fruits & Veggies Have The Most Pesticides

Every year, the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen provide a snapshot of pesticide use in America.

To put it together, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyzes USDA data on the chemicals found on grocery store produce. Then, the watchdog organization compiles it into an easy-to-digest list of fruits and veggies that tended to contain the most and least pesticides in the past year.

While the USDA data tends to be inconsistent (the EWG told us that the produce they test every year varies, as do the chemicals they test for), the list provides helpful suggestions for those of us looking to avoid pesticides, which are now present in nearly 70 percent of produce sold in the U.S.

"Some produce samples can have more than 50 different types of pesticides," Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG's senior science adviser, told mbg. In total, the most recent analysis identified 225 different pesticides—all of which were found after produce was washed in cold water for 15 to 20 seconds and, if applicable, peeled.

Let's take a look at the highs and lows on this year's just-released list. (And if you're curious, you can compare them to the most up-to-date rankings here.)

This year, strawberries topped the Dirty Dozen list yet again. EWG scientists explained that this might have to do with the fact that the fruit is often sprayed with chemicals in transit as well as on the farm. The same goes for apples: An incredible 80 percent of conventionally grown ones contain diphenylamine, a chemical treatment that prevents them from browning in storage but has been banned in the E.U. for years due to health concerns.