This may surprise you but research shows there’s no nutritional or safety difference between organic and conventional foods.1 #AD @ProduceMadeSimple
Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases the “Dirty Dozen” list, which ranks produce with the highest amounts of pesticide residue, while their “Clean Fifteen” list ranks the top 15 produce varieties with the least amount of pesticide residue. How the EWG comes up with the list is pretty flawed. They count different number of pesticide residues, but not how much there actually is, what kind or if it’s even close to harmful levels. Organic produce also has pesticide residues on them. In reality, the pesticide residues on conventional produce are so low that you’d have to eat so many of one piece of produce to even come close to a level that may cause harmful effects. Use this tool to calculate the amount of pesticides on your produce: https://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/pesticide-residue-calculator/
These lists have been shown to make people fearful of purchasing conventional produce; in a 2016 study, participants were afraid to purchase conventional produce due to its pesticide rankings on the “Dirty Dozen” list, and the cost of organic produce deterred low-income individuals from buying any fruits or vegetables.2
Other studies have examined the health risks of eating organic vs conventional produce. One study showed that substituting organic fruits and vegetables for conventional varieties, as advised by the EWG, didn’t result in any decrease in risk for consumers, as pesticide residue on conventional produce is extremely low, if it’s present at all. 3
The real issue at hand is that most of the population not meeting the recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables, it’s imperative for people to not hold onto fear of pesticides as a barrier to consumption. Not eating enough fruits and veggies poses a much greater risk than worrying about eating all organic produce. This is why it’s important to wash your produce well, regardless if it’s conventional or organic.
Bottom Line: don’t fear the ‘dirty dozen’ produce. Eat enough fruits and vegetables. Buy organic if you want, but it is no more nutritious or safe than conventional produce. Check out Produce Made Simple to learn about the Ontario produce industry and get inspired with easy recipes!
1.Smith-Spangler C, Brandeau ML, Hunter GE, et al. Are organic foods safer or healthier than conventional alternatives?: a systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(5):348-366.
2. Huang Y, Edirisinghe I, Burton-Freeman B. Low-income shoppers and fruit and vegetables: what do they think? Nutr Today. 2016;51(5):242-250.
3. Winter CK, Katz JM. Dietary exposure to pesticide residues from commodities alleged to contain the highest contamination levels. J Toxicol. 2011;2011:589674.