Top Ten Fruits And Vegetables

The fine folks at Mothers and Others ranked the following 10 out of 42 fruits and vegetables sampled according to the amount and toxicity of pesticide residues found.

1.  PEACHES:
Summer’s blushing fruit contains high residues of iprodione, classified as a probable human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and methyl parathion, an endocrine disruptor and organophosphate (OP) insecticide. OPs are potent neurotoxins that attack the nervous system and brain. Methyl parathion has caused massive kills of bees and birds. According to Consumer Reports, single servings of peaches “consistently exceeded” EPA’s safe daily limit for a 44-lb. child.

2. APPLES:
May contain methyl parathion. Both fresh apples and baby food applesauce can also contain chlorpyrifos, an OP which has caused large bird kills. CORE Values IPM apple growers are trying to phase out OPs.

3. PEARS:
Both fresh and in baby food, can also come with methyl parathion, as well as the OP azinphos-methyl, which is toxic to freshwater fish, amphibians and bees.

4. WINTER SQUASH:
Dieldrin, a chlorinated, carcinogenic insecticide, exceeded the safe daily limit for a young child in two-thirds of positive samples. Another potent carcinogen, heptachlor, also showed up. DDT and its breakdown product, DDE, were detected in baby food squash.

5. GREEN BEANS:
Can contain acephate, methamidophos and dimethoate (three neurotoxic OPs), and endosulfan, an endocrine-disrupting insecticide, which showed up in baby food, too. Acephate disorients migrating birds, throwing them off course.

6. GRAPES:
U.S. grapes contain methyl parathion and methomyl, a carbamate insecticide listed as an endocrine disruptor; imports may contain dimethoate.

7. STRAWBERRIES:
The enhanced red color of strawberries comes from the fungicide captan, a probable human carcinogen that can irritate skin and eyes, and is highly toxic to fish. While the lethal soil fumigant methyl bromide doesn’t show up on the fruit, it has harmed California farm workers, and depletes the ozone layer.

8. RASPBERRIES:
Watch out for more than thorns! These berries can contain captan, iprodione and carbaryl, a suspected endocrine disruptor that has also been found in plum baby food.

9. SPINACH:
Permethrin, a possible human carcinogen, and dimethoate dominate spinach’s toxicity ratings, but Consumers Union (CU) notes that residue levels have been declining as U.S. farmers reduce use of these insecticides. DDT has been found in spinach, which leads all foods in exceeding safety tolerances.

10. POTATOES:
Pesticide use on potatoes is growing, CU warns. They may contain dieldrin and methamidophos, and children eating potatoes risk getting a very high dose of aldicarb, CU says.

*Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a system that helps growers keep pest damage, and therefore pesticide use, at a minimum.

Throughout the growing season, IPM farmers carefully monitor insect and disease levels on their crops.

Biological controls, such as pheromone traps and other baits, are employed before synthetic pesticides are resorted to.

Copyright ©2000. Reprinted from The Green Guide, #80 with permission from Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet, a national nonprofit consumer education and advocacy organization seeking to effect lasting protection of children’s health and the environment.

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