In an ideal world, all fresh produce would be grown without the use of pesticides. Eating food grown organically is much better for the environment as farming practices are sustainable, and just as importantly, help us reduce the amount of pesticides we put in our bodies. Unfortunately for many people, it’s just too much of a burden financially to only eat organic.
Australia has some of the best-regarded Organic Standard practices in the world, and for produce to be accepted as Certified Organic, farmers must adhere to strict practices including making sure there are no pesticides found in the soil for three years prior to certification, that the produce contains no GMO’s, and there are no nasty additives or chemicals mixed with the produce.
For those of us who can’t afford to eat all organic, there’s a fantastic report put out annually by the non-partisan, not-for-profit Environmental Working Group that lists the fruits and vegetables that contain the most and least amount of pesticide residue. So if you only choose to eat some organic foods, stick to the following list:
The “Dirty 12” foods to eat organic.
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Celery
- Grapes
- Cherries
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Sweet bell peppers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumbers
No real surprises there – most of these fruits and vegetables don’t have a skin or husk and are porous, allowing pesticides to seep in. Another factor for a high pesticide residual is that some of these products require a huge amount of pesticides compared to others. Strawberries top the list here not only because they can easily absorb pesticides, but because they’re so susceptible to pests. Strawberry farmers wear hazmat-type suits when spraying their fields… This should be enough of a clue as to why it’s important to eat them from organic growers.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Here’s a list of the “Clean 15” foods, safer to eat conventionally.
It’s not all bad news for those of us who can’t fork out the extra dollars to eat only organic foods. The following list of produce has very low, if any, traces of pesticides:
- Onions
- Avocado
- Sweet Corn (watch for GMO)
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Sweet Peas
- Eggplant
- Cauliflower
- Asparagus
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupes
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
You can see the full report from EWG here.
Here are Forest Super Foods 99% of our products are certified organic by Australian Certified Organic. We strongly believe that if you’re consuming foods high in nutrients and minerals to boost nutrition, they should be clean and free of chemicals that can cause the body damage.
Certified Organic Super Foods
