Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for 2018

Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for 2018

Oh my, how could I have almost forgotten about the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for 2018? Is it just me or is this year just flying right by?! Well as you know, I post this list every year in an effort to share which fruits and vegetables are most heavily sprayed with pesticides and therefore best to buy organic, and which ones are not so necessary to buy organic.

As always, you can visit EWG’s website (Environmental Working Group) for the complete lists, more detailed information on this year’s findings, and to download the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, if you’d like. For more detailed information on topics such as pesticides and whether peeling fruits and vegetables makes a difference, here are a few of the previous Dirty Dozen lists:

2015

2016

2017

Dirty Dozen (produce that is recommended to buy organic)


  1. Strawberries
  2. Spinach
  3. Nectarines
  4. Apples
  5. Grapes
  6. Peaches
  7. Cherries
  8. Pears
  9. Tomatoes
  10. Celery
  11. Potatoes
  12. Sweet bell peppers

If you saw last year’s list you’ll notice that all the same things made the list this year, and once again hot peppers are the addition to the list as nearly three-quarters of the samples contained pesticide residues this year.

Clean Fifteen (produce you don’t have to buy organic)


  1. Avocados
  2. Sweet Corn*
  3. Pineapples
  4. Cabbages
  5. Onions
  6. Sweet peas frozen
  7. Papayas*
  8. Asparagus
  9. Mangoes
  10. Eggplants
  11. Honeydew melons
  12. Kiwis
  13. Cantaloupes
  14. Cauliflower
  15. Broccoli

*A small amount of sweet corn, papaya, and summer squash sold in the U.S. is produced from GE seeds. If you want to avoid genetically modified produce, it’s suggested to buy organic varieties.

I hope this list will come in handy with your produce shopping for the rest of the year!

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