‘Dirty Dozen’ Fruits & Veggies

The Environmental Working Group / EWG has put out their annual list of fruits & veggies sold in grocery stores that may be contaminated with bad stuff such as herbicides and pesticides. According to the EWG: many pesticides pose health risks to people and have been linked to brain and nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormone disruption, and irritation of the skin, eyes and lungs.

Here is the EWG's "Dirty Dozen" list of 2013.

12. Hot peppers

11. Cherry tomatoes

10. Potatoes

9. Cucumbers

8. Imported nectarines

7. Sweet bell peppers

6. Spinach

5. Peaches

4. Celery

3. Grapes

2. Strawberries

1. Apples

Personally I always wash my produce with sudsy water and then rinse it off really well.  Sure it might sound a bit excessive, but what do you suppose are the personal hygiene practices of a field worker?  I mean I've seen my share of field harvest footage and I know these folks are putting in some long hard days, but I've never seem a shot of one 'Men's Room' or even a 'Port-a-Potty'.  Nuff said.