Environmental Protection Agency banning use of chlorpyrifos on food crops
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Dirty Dozen 2021: View the list of foods with the most and least pesticides
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PHILADELPHIA Strawberries continue to lead the Dirty Dozen list of fruits and veggies that contain the highest levels of pesticides, followed by spinach, a trio of greens kale, collard and mustard nectarines, apples, and grapes, according to the Environmental Working Group s 2021 Shopper s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.
Cherries came in seventh on the list of the 46 most contaminated foods, followed by peaches, pears, bell and hot peppers, celery, and tomatoes.
Avoiding pesticides is especially critical for babies and children, experts say, because of the damage they can cause to the developing brain. A 2020 study found an increase in IQ loss and intellectual disability in children due to exposure to organophosphates, a common class of pesticides.
An annual report
The EWG report, issued yearly since 2004, uses US Department of Agriculture test data to rank 46 foods that are the most and least contaminated with pesticide residues. The agency prepares the food as consumers would â washing, peeling or scrubbing â before testing each item. The USDA does not sample all 46 foods each year, so EWG pulls results from the most recent testing period.
A new entry on this year s list was collard greens and mustard greens, which joined kale in the No. 3 spot. Tests found these vegetables often contained the pesticide DCPA, classified by the EPA as a possible human carcinogen. It was banned by the European Union in 2009.