Why Your Daily Fruits And Veggies Might Be Hiding Pesticides in WA.

Fruits and vegetables. It's safe to say that everybody should eat some fruit and vegetables every day, but are there things you need to watch out for? 

The answer is yes. 

Especially in this day and age when Industrial farming is becoming more prevalent, one of the things you need to watch out for with fruits and vegetables is pesticide residue. Unless you're an organic farmer, you can't raise a crop without some pesticides. 

Now there's some research that's been done by a very reputable organization, Consumer Reports, that lists certain fruits and vegetables that you need to watch out for because of pesticide residue. 

According to msn.com,
‘To help consumers identify the fruits and vegetables that posed the greatest risk from pesticides, Consumer Reports recently analyzed eight years of data from the Department of Agriculture’s pesticide residue monitoring program. While close to two-thirds of these foods are ranked low or very low risk, pesticides pose a serious problem in conventionally grown versions of the following six fruits and vegetables.’ 

Let's look at a few examples. 

Blueberries: Consumer Reports discovered that about one in five samples of blueberries tested high in phosmet. The Environmental Protection Agency says this is Potentially harmful to children. They also say that USDA data shows an increase in the use of that chemical. Organically grown blueberries are a much better way to go if you can find them. 

Bell Peppers:  Almost half of the domestically Conventionally grown samples tested positive for oxamyl or its breakdown product, oxamyl oxime. Bell Peppers have been testing consistently higher in risk than other vegetables in the United States. As with berries, the best work around is to go with organically grown products. If you like spicy Peppers, sorry, they're testing high risk as well. 

Potatoes:  In general, testing shows that nearly all domestic conventionally grown samples were contaminated with chlorpropham, a carbamate pesticide. While not the riskiest pesticide, tests show that it appeared on almost every sample of potatoes in the United States. That's because it's normally applied Just before they are bagged for shipment. I know it sounds like a broken record, but if you're concerned about this then you need to seriously look at organic. 

Green beans:  The good news for green beans is only about 4% tested positive for OP acephate or a related chemical, methamidophos.  The bad news is when found present; the risk levels were considered high. By the way, this substance has been banned by the EPA since 2011. The high-risk levels were mostly seen in imported green beans from Mexico. The suggestion is to go organic but stay away from imported organic green beans because they can also test high. 

Blackberries:  Imported conventionally grown blackberries, mostly from Mexico tend to pose a high risk of contamination from Methamidophos. Only about 6% of the samples tested showed a high risk of this chemical, but even frozen blackberries are considered high risk as well. The use of Methamidophos has been banned in the United States since 2024. Fresh, domestically grown blackberries will certainly test better, but as always you guessed it, look for organic when you can. 

After looking at these examples, and there are certainly more of them to see. It's safe to assume that you will find fewer pesticides in organically grown vegetables and fruits than in domestically conventionally grown vegetables and fruits. But also keep in mind organic farming is more difficult to do, thus more expensive. 

Eat well, but eat smart.
6 Fruits and Vegetables Loaded With Pesticides