What Does Dirty Dozen Mean (2023)

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What Does Dirty Dozen Mean? ›

The Environmental Working Group

The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits and vegetables with the highest level of pesticide residues created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to educate the public on food safety.

As in 2022, strawberries and spinach continued to hold the top two spots on the Dirty Dozen, followed by three greens - kale, collard and mustard. Listed next were peaches, pears, nectarines, apples, grapes, bell and hot peppers, and cherries. Blueberries and green beans were 11th and 12th on the list.

An organization called the Environmental Working Group (comprised of scientists, researchers and policymakers), developed a list of the certain types of organic produce that can reduce the amount of toxins you consume on a daily basis (“The Clean 15”), and one for common produce items that have the highest amounts of ...

And get this: This is the very report the EWG used to create its “Dirty Dozen” list. While some produce is more likely to have pesticide residues than others, it's essentially all safe to consume.

As a rule of thumb, washing with water reduces dirt, germs, and pesticide residues remaining on fresh fruit and vegetable surfaces. Washing and rubbing produce under running water is better than dunking it.

Strawberries

Nearly all non-organic strawberries were contaminated with pesticides (99 percent), and they were the produce most likely to stay contaminated, even after they were washed in the field and at home.

Pineapple, onions and papaya, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, honeydew melon, kiwi, cabbage, mushrooms, mangoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, and carrots made up the rest of the list. Being exposed to a variety of foods without pesticides is especially important during pregnancy and throughout childhood, experts say.

Does peeling cucumbers remove pesticides? ›

The storing, washing, and peeling procedures lead to the decrease of pesticide residues in greenhouse cucumbers. Among them, the peeling procedure has the greatest impact on residual reduction.

Broccoli ranks middle of the Environmental Working Group (EWG)'s Pesticides in Produce List, falling at number 22; not part of the "dirty dozen." Broccoli, like its cousin cabbage, emits a plant compound called glucosinolates that naturally helps to deter bugs.

Consumer Reports' experts recommend rinsing, rubbing, or scrubbing fruits and vegetables at home to help remove pesticide residue. Now, a new study from researchers at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, suggests another method that may also be effective: soaking them in a solution of baking soda and water.

Some foods are more likely than others to contain germs that can make you sick. These foods include: Raw and undercooked foods from animals, including meat, chicken and other poultry, eggs, raw (unpasteurized) milk and products made from it, and seafood.

While you can remove pesticide residues using a soaking solution such as vinegar and water or salt and water, it's not advisable. There's a small risk the chemical reaction between the pesticides and the solution could produce potentially harmful compounds.

Known as persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, the dirty dozen are known to cause cancer and damage reproductive, nervous and immune systems. The Stockholm Convention on POPs comes into force on 17 May, legally binding governments to ban immediately the production and environmental release of most of these chemicals.

The Dirty Dozen was inspired by the real-life Filthy Thirteen, but as with most war films, Hollywood took some liberties with the facts. In the movie, the commandos are convicted criminals who are given the chance to earn back their freedom by volunteering for a suicide mission.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit organization based in the United States that was founded in 1993 with a mission to promote public health by protecting the environment. Arguably their most famous initiative is the "Dirty Dozen" list, which was established in 1995.