Dirty Dozen, Clean Fifteen Released for 2023

It’s that time of year... the Environmental Working Group has just finished compiling the date and released the new Dirty Dozen list. These are the twelve fruits and vegetables which are most likely to be highly contaminated by pesticides. In order to avoid the toxic body burden from these pesticides it’s important to buy the Dirty Dozen produce items organically. That’s because these pesticides are not legally allowed to be used for organic produce.

You do have to remember to also think all the way down the food chain. For example, if you’re purchasing organic apples, you’ll also want to buy organic apple sauce, apple juice, dried apples, if there’s apples in your trail mix it needs to be organic, etc, The pesticide levels do not go away or diminish when the item is processed, it’s still there. So make sure you’re paying attention to what you’re buying from the Dirty Dozen list.

The Clean 15 are those fruits and vegetables which do not need to be purchased organically because they have the lowest uptake of pesticides. It’s still recommended that you thoroughly wash all produce before consuming it, whether it’s organic or not, Dirty Dozen, or Clean Fifteen.

Unfortunately strawberries continue to be at the top of the list. That means anything strawberry needs to be organic - strawberries, strawberry jam, dried strawberries, strawberry ice cream, etc. All of it. And the leafy greens (kale, collards, and mustard greens) continue to hold on to spot #3. If you’re adding dark leafy greens to your diet, and you should be, these need to be organic.

Here’s this year’s Dirty Dozen list:

1. Strawberries

2. Spinach

3. Kale, collard & mustard greens

4. Peaches

5. Pears

6. Nectarines

7. Apples

8. Grapes

9. Bell & hot peppers

10. Cherries

11. Blueberries

12. Green beans

In a surprising twist, green beans have made it onto the list. Unfortunately, strawberries remain in the number one spot. That means anything strawberry....

EWG’s Clean Fifteen

1. Avocados

2. Sweet corn

3. Pineapple

4. Onions

5. Papaya

6. Sweet peas (frozen)

7. Asparagus

8. Honeydew melon

9. Kiwi

10. Cabbage

11. Mushrooms

12. Mangoes

13. Sweet potatoes

14. Watermelon

15. Carrots

Using this information from the EWG I’ve created this small printables that you can cut out and put in your wallet to help you remember.

Previous Years

For those who are interested here’s a list of what’s been on the Dirty Dozen over the years. It’s astonishing to me, and more than a little heartbreaking, that we continue to have certain foods that are so excessively treated with pesticides. Many of these are foods that fed to children for whom the pesticide body burden is even worse due to their smaller size and higher consumption. Regardless of your size, we need to avoid pesticides in our diet. Print out and take your handout with you and stay on top of which products you MUST buy organic so you can eat well to be well.

2022: strawberries, spinach, kale, collard, and mustard greens, nectarines, apples, grapes, bell and hot peppers, cherries, peaches, pears, celery, tomatoes

2021: strawberries, spinach, kale-collards-mustard greens, nectarines, apples, grapes, cherries, peaches, pears, bell and hot peppers, celery, tomatoes

2020: strawberries, spinach, kale, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes

2019: strawberries, spinach, kale, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes

2018: strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes, sweet bell peppers

2017: strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, celery, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes

2016: strawberries, apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, grapes, cherries, spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers

Dirty Dozen, Clean Fifteen Released For 2023

Here’s this year’s Dirty Dozen list:

EWG’s Clean Fifteen

Previous Years

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