Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen: The EWG’s 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyzes the most recent USDA data to compile its Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists.
These list the types of fruits and vegetables that tend to be grown with the most and least pesticides, based on the latest available numbers.
The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list we have you for in today's article helps guide you toward the produce you should prioritize buying organic from a health perspective and also when you don't HAVE TO to save a few bucks despite them still being sprayed with pesticides. See below for the 2024 Dirty Dozen & Clean 15
Dirty Dozen™ (buy organic 100% of the time)
Of the 46 items included in our analysis, these 12 fruits and vegetables were most contaminated with pesticides. DO NOT BUY UNLESS ORGANIC 100% OF THE TIME.
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, collard & mustard greens
4. Grapes
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Nectarines
8. Apples
9. Bell & hot Peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green Beans
Tested but not on either list (use caution with conventional)
These 19 items were included in the fruit and vegetable testing data from the USDA and FDA but do not fall into either the Dirty Dozen or Clean Fifteen lists. TAKE CAUTION, LIMIT CONSUMPTION FROM CONVENTIONAL SOURCES!
13. Tomatoes
14. Winter squash
15. Cherry Tomatoes
16. Celery
17. Lettuce
18. Tangerines
19. Cucumbers
20. Summer squash*
21. Broccoli
22. Potatoes
23. Plums
24. Eggplant
25. Raspberries
26. Grapefruit
27. Snap Peas
28. Oranges
29. Cantaloupe
30. Bananas
31. Cauliflower
Clean Fifteen™ (lowest residues among conventional options)
These 15 items had the lowest amounts of pesticide residues, according to EWG’s analysis of the most recent USDA data. LOWEST PESTICIDE CONTENT, STILL TAKE CAUTION, BUT THE BEST CONVENTIONAL CHOICES.
32. Carrots
33. Sweet Potatoes
34. Mangoes
35. Mushrooms
36. Watermelon
37. Cabbage
38. Kiwi
39. Honeydew melon
40. Asparagus
41. Sweet peas (frozen)
42. Papaya*
43. Onions
44. Pineapple
45. Sweet corn*
46. Avocados
* A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from genetically modified seeds. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid genetically modified produce.
Every year, the EWG's Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen provide an overview of the fruits and vegetables that most and least pose a risk to your health. We hope you save this list and check back next for for the 2025 Dirty Dozen & Clean 15
Some Dirty Dozen highlights
A total of 209 pesticides were found on Dirty Dozen items.
Across all 12 items, 95 percent of samples had pesticides.
Over 90 percent of samples of strawberries, apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines and grapes tested positive for residues of two or more pesticides.
More than 50 pesticides were detected on samples from each item on the Dirty Dozen, except cherries.
The most pesticides were found on kale, collard and mustard greens, with 103 individual chemicals found across the items in the category.
Hot peppers and bell peppers were next, with 101.
All of the produce on the Dirty Dozen had at least one sample with at least 13 pesticides — and some had as many as 23.
The neurotoxic organophosphate insecticide acephate, prohibited from use on green beans in 2011, was detected on six percent of that crop’s samples.
Some Clean Fifteen highlights
Almost 65 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had no detectable pesticide residues.
Avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest produce – less than 2 percent of samples of each showed any detectable pesticides.
Just over 10 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had residues of two or more pesticides.
No sample from the first six Clean Fifteen items tested positive for more than three pesticides.
More information
Here are more resources from EWG’s 2024 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce:
EWG: 30 years of research on pesticides and children’s health
Why does EWG release its Shopper’s Guide each year?
Complete lists of all tested fruits and vegetables
Problem → solution → brand: when in doubt, prioritize organic on the Dirty Dozen, choose conventional from the Clean Fifteen, and use PureClean Performance nutrition to support resilience while you improve sourcing.
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