Announcement of 12 fruits containing the most pesticides

TAccording to a US environmental watchdog, strawberries are the fruit with the highest pesticide residue.

70% of strawberries have traces of pesticides, higher than any other fruit or vegetable. This is the conclusion in the 2017 Dirty Dozen List of the US Environmental Working Group - EWG (Enviromental Working Group), which announced the 12 types of fruits and vegetables containing the most pesticides, including: strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers and potatoes.

Researchers found that 70% of strawberries contained traces of pesticides. Photo: Daily Mail.

To compile the list, researchers analyzed 36,000 samples of 48 popular fruits and vegetables. They found that more than 98 percent of samples of strawberries, spinach, nectarines, cherries, peaches, and apples tested positive for residues of at least one pesticide.

In particular, strawberry samples showed 20 different pesticides. Spinach samples had twice the amount of pesticide residue as other crops.

The least contaminated produce was sweetcorn, avocados, pineapples, cabbage, onions, frozen peas, papayas, asparagus, mangoes, eggplants, honeydew melons, kiwis, cantaloupes, cauliflower, and grapefruit. Tests showed that total pesticide residues on these fruits were quite low.

Avocados and sweetcorn were the cleanest fruits and vegetables, with only 1% of samples showing traces of pesticides. More than 80% of pineapples, papayas, asparagus, onions and cabbage were pesticide-free.

Although the effects of pesticides on strawberries have not been published, many studies have shown the dangers of consuming foods containing chemicals. They can lead to cancer, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, birth defects, miscarriages and infertility. However, this list is not intended to encourage consumers to completely boycott the above 12 fruits and vegetables, but to help people make smarter choices when going to the supermarket.

To avoid eating foods contaminated with pesticides, we should choose organically grown foods, or soak them in diluted salt water and wash them under running water to remove dirt and toxic substances.

According to Zing