The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released a list of fresh fruits and vegetables containing pesticide residues. While pesticide residues fell within the EPA’s tolerance level for safe food, concerned consumers may want to adjust their buying decisions based on the list.

Apples topped the list with 98% containing pesticide residue. Industry immediately shot back and said that growers are doing nothing illegal, they are just trying to keep their apples fresh and nutritious. Fungicides are routinely applied to apples because they are stored for several months before being sold. Items were washed in water for 10 seconds before being tested. Other items with high pesticide rates:

• Apples – 98% contain pesticide residues
• Grapes – 97
• Strawberries – 96
• Cilantro – 94
• Potatoes – 92
• Oranges – 85
• Green Onions – 66
• Sweet Potatoes – 48
• Organic Lettuce – 20

We would definitely buy organic for items above 50%, others may draw their own conclusions.

Organic Vegetables and Fruit

Organic products are more expensive. I was looking for a guide that listed fruits and Veggies that one could save money by moving to non organic on less crucial items. See our post on the definition of organic.

FoodNews, run by the Environmental Working Group, has a list of 43 items with highest pesticide load. Peaches, Apple, Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries are way up there on the buy Organic list.

On the other end are items like Bananas, Kiwi, Asparagus, Sweet Peas-Frozen, Mango, Pineapples, Sweet Corn-Frozen, Avocado, and Onions, that I would consider not going Organic.

A recent article flags high pesticide levels in frozen blueberries, strawberries, and celery. There may be a link to pesticides and ADHD.

Consumer Reports.org also has an article on when it pays to buy organic.

While you will save money, non-organic products do subject farmers and the environment to pesticides.

It gets more complicated.. Recent articles have said that Choosing Organic Pesticides over Synthetic Pesticides May Not Effectively Mitigate Environmental Risk.

Be sure to read our article on organic and biodynamic wines.

Organic Lollipops

Couldn’t believe they have organic…

Amazon has Organic Lollipops which are also allergen-free; gluten-free; GMO-free; egg-free; soy-free; nut-free; casein-free; dairy-free. What will become organic next?

Overheard… “Mom, Can I have a Lollipop? They’re organic so they must be good for you!”

Food Nutritional Scoring System – ONQI – NuVal

NuVal.com has a food scoring system that “allows consumers to see – at a glance – the nutritional value of the food they buy.” Items are scored from 1 (Worst) to 100 (Best).

It was created by an independent team:

“The team of recognized nutrition and medical experts that developed the ONQI™ algorithm behind the NuVal™ System was entirely funded by Griffin Hospital without support from manufacturers or other parties interested in promoting specific foods.”

Soda gets a 1, Broccoli scores 100. Pretty easy to decode relative benefits of different foods.

Be sure to check out our article: When to buy organic food