Debunking the "Dirty Dozen" - What You Should Know
Last week, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published its annual "Dirty Dozen" list, which led to a flood of news headlines about which fruits and vegetables have the most pesticides.
Sounds concerning, right?
I used to believe the claims, too, but before you start committing the list to memory and paying more for organic versions of the "worst" fruits and veggies, read on to learn why the Dirty Dozen list is something you don't need to worry about.
1. The EWG is a lobbyist organization with ties to major organic food corporations, so it has a stake in promoting organic products. The Dirty Dozen list is designed to encourage consumers to purchase organic produce rather than conventional varieties. It’s widely shared by many major news outlets and most people don’t know or understand the science, which is how this kind of misinformation ends up going viral.
2. The list is misleading. A peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Toxicology in 2011 found there was no noticeable difference in pesticide levels in the organic vs. conventional varieties of the produce on the Dirty Dozen list. It also found that the most commonly detected pesticides on the produce on the list posed “negligible risks” to consumers, meaning the quantities were so small they were irrelevant.
3. The same study determined that the methodology used by the EWG “lacks scientific credibility.” Fruits and veggies that land on the dirty list are those on which traces of multiple different pesticides were detected, but the list doesn’t factor the actual amounts into determining the safety risk.
If you’re saying, “But I’d rather not have any pesticides on my food!” I get that. Which brings us to…
4. "Organic" doesn't mean no pesticides! Organic famers use natural pesticides, containing things like sulfur or mineral oils. Per USDA regulations, organic produce may also contain up to 5% synthetic pesticide residue. Natural pesticides are not inherently safer than synthetic; “natural” just means derived from minerals, plants, or animals. [Link] In fact, because natural pesticides generally break down faster, they may be applied in larger or more frequent applications. [Learn more about natural vs. synthetic pesticides here.]
5. Since 1991, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has tested produce samples to determine safety through the Pesticide Data Program. In 2020, more than 99% of the samples tested, including both organic and conventional produce, had residues below the tolerance levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 30% had no detectable residues.
6. Is the acceptable tolerance level even safe though? The EPA determines a “No Observed Adverse Effects Level” (NOAEL), then it sets the acceptable level well below that, typically 100-1,000 times below. [Visual]
The EWG says those tolerance levels might be too high and bases their lists on a different level of their own (part of the reason their process “lacks scientific credibility.”)
Toxicologists at University of California, Riverside developed a formula to estimate how many servings of a fruit or vegetable a person could consume before reaching dangerous pesticide levels, using the EPA’s NOAEL and serving sizes set by the Food & Drug Administration.
I’m a woman who just ate some non-conventional blueberries for breakfast, so I plugged that data into the Safe Fruits & Veggies calculator and… I could eat 13,225 servings the rest of the day before risking adverse effects from pesticides. (There would surely be other adverse effects to my digestive system if I tried to eat that many! 🤢)
Strawberries are usually high on the Dirty Dozen list, but even a child’s system could handle 181 servings in a day before risking high exposure to pesticide residue. The better question is: Could your wallet (or your bathroom) handle feeding your child that many strawberries at once? 👀
>>Try out the calculator here<<
7. Speaking of wallets, organic produce is way more expensive than conventional. Not everyone can afford to eat that way, and they don’t need to! Some experts fear that promoting the Dirty Dozen list could deter people from purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables, and I know I avoided certain fruits and vegetables when I believed in the Dirty Dozen list, because there was no way I was able to pay those prices!
If someone has the money and the desire to shell out extra for organic produce, it’s their money, their food, and their choice, but from a health and safety standpoint, it’s not necessary. Remember, organic doesn’t mean healthier or even pesticide-free!
There’s no reason for anyone to fear conventionally grown fruits and vegetables or to worry about putting their family’s health at risk by not spending extra for organic.
The bottom line...
Just eat more fruits and vegetables! Americans don’t consume enough, and rather than scaring people off fresh produce, health professionals should be encouraging them to eat more. Conventional, organic, fresh, frozen, local, canned, steamed, roasted, raw – doesn’t matter, they all count, and they're all safe. Just eat them!
