"Dirty Dozen" "Clean 15"

While buying organic produce is often the best way to avoid pesticide contamination, it's not an option for everyone, especially people who are already struggling to make ends meet. The EWG also notes that "the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure." Still, here are the items that you should try to buy organic (or from local farmers markets, or grow in your own garden) whenever possible: The Dirty Dozen Plus: apples celery sweet bell peppers peaches strawberries imported nectaries grapes spinach lettuce cucumbers domestic blueberries potatoes green beans kale, collards, and leafy greens Conventionally grown items on the "Clean 15" list are generally low in pesticides. "More than 90 percent of cabbage, asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant and sweet potato samples had one or fewer pesticides detected," the report says. "Of the 'Clean Fifteen' vegetables, no single sample had more than 5 different chemicals, and no single fruit sample from the 'Clean Fifteen' had more than 5 types of pesticides detected." The Clean 15: onions sweet corn pineapples avocado cabbage sweet Peas asparagus mangoes eggplant kiwi domestic cantaloupe sweet potatoes grapefruit watermelon mushrooms