Amount of Pesticides in Foods

Amount of Pesticides in Foods

Test Results: Complete Data Set

Rank (worst to best)

Commodity

Combined Score

Percentage of Samples Tested with Detectable Pesticides

Percentage of Samples With Two or More Pesticides

Average Number of Pesticides Found on a Sample

Average Amount (in ppm*) of All Pesticides Found

Maximum Number of Pesticides Found on a Single Sample

Number of Pesticides Found on the Commodity in Total

1 Peaches 100 96.6% 86.6% 3.1 1.134 9 42
2 Apples 89 92.1% 78.9% 2.5 0.901 9 37
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86 81.5% 62.2% 2.4 0.138 11 64
4 Celery 85 94.1% 79.8% 3.0 0.413 9 30
5 Nectarines 84 97.3% 85.3% 3.0 0.576 7 26
6 Strawberries 82 92.1% 69.1% 2.2 0.843 8 35
7 Cherries 75 91.4% 75.8% 2.8 0.290 7 25
8 Pears 65 87.2% 47.4% 1.6 0.544 6 32
9 Grapes - Imported 65 85.3% 53.4% 1.7 0.291 7 32
10 Spinach 60 70.0% 31.2% 1.1 1.240 6 24
11 Lettuce 59 58.9% 33.0% 1.3 0.108 9 49
12 Potatoes 58 81.0% 18.0% 1.0 1.655 4 18
13 Carrots 57 81.7% 48.3% 1.6 0.046 6 31
14 Green Beans 53 65.4% 39.0% 1.3 0.187 6 34
15 Hot Peppers 53 55.0% 27.5% 1.0 0.290 6 51
16 Cucumbers 52 72.5% 31.7% 1.2 0.057 6 40
17 Raspberries 47 47.9% 23.3% 0.9 0.906 6 21
18 Plums 45 56.2% 10.2% 0.7 1.359 4 17
19 Grapes - Domestic 43 61.4% 21.8% 0.9 0.107 6 29
20 Oranges 42 83.3% 28.8% 1.2 0.084 4 15
21 Grapefruit 40 62.3% 22.6% 0.9 0.530 5 9
22 Tangerines 38 66.7% 33.3% 1.2 0.375 3 4
23 Mushrooms 37 60.2% 22.3% 0.9 0.158 5 16
24 Cantaloupe 34 54.9% 20.1% 0.8 0.028 4 21
25 Honeydew Melon 31 59.2% 14.2% 0.8 0.012 4 16
26 Tomatoes 30 46.9% 13.5% 0.6 0.029 5 16
27 Sweet Potatoes 30 58.4% 10.0% 0.7 0.198 3 17
28 Watermelons 28 29.4% 14.0% 0.5 0.028 6 18
29 Winter Squash 27 39.8% 12.6% 0.6 0.019 5 16
30 Cauliflower 27 72.4% 8.1% 0.8 0.004 3 4
31 Blueberries 24 27.5% 10.0% 0.4 0.327 4 11
32 Papaya 21 23.5% 5.0% 0.3 0.053 4 19
33 Broccoli 18 28.1% 3.2% 0.3 0.004 3 19
34 Cabbage 17 17.9% 4.8% 0.2 0.121 3 18
35 Bananas 16 41.7% 2.0% 0.4 0.029 2 7
36 Kiwi 14 15.3% 3.4% 0.2 0.160 3 8
37 Sweet Peas - Frozen 11 22.9% 2.3% 0.3 0.010 2 5
38 Asparagus 11 6.7% 0.6% 0.1 0.026 2 19
39 Mango 9 7.1% 0.5% 0.1 0.057 2 13
40 Pineapples 7 7.7% 0.6% 0.1 0.002 2 7
41 Sweet Corn - Frozen 2 3.8% 0.0% 0.0 0.005 1 3
42 Avocado 1 1.4% 0.0% 0.0 0.001 1 2
43 Onions 1 0.2% 0.0% 0.0 0.000 1 2

Note: We ranked a total of 42 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.

* ppm means parts per million

The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2004.

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