EWG: Dirty Dozen

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Produce may retain pesticides after washingMay 3, 2010 - 4:24am
WASHINGTON - Some nasty chemicals may be lurking on the surface of your fruits and vegetables, even after you have finished cleaning them.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says despite giving produce a thorough washing, chemical residue from pesticides can remain on the surface of your food. Eating the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day could result in taking in an average of 10 different pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group has a list of the "Dirty Dozen," which contains 12 different fruits and vegetables that are the most contaminated with chemicals.
The group's rankings are based on an analysis of 96,000 tests for pesticides on foods done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2008.
The dirtiest fruits are peaches and nectarines. More than 96 percent of peaches tested positive for pesticides, and more than 95 percent of nectarines tested positive.
The dirtiest vegetable was celery. The group says 95 percent of celery samples tested positive for pesticides.
Asparagus, sweet corn and avocados were the cleanest pieces of produce on the list. There were no detectable pesticides on 90 percent of their samples.
The group recommends spending extra on organic produce if you want to reduce the chance of ingesting any sort of residue.
WTOP's Amy Held contributed to this report.