Pesticides on Produce

Maybe Popeye should buy organic. Spinach is still a super food to eat, but along with those leafy greens, your family gulps down a dose of pesticides. Some good-for-you foods carry a heavy pesticide load, and the amount and toxicity vary widely by crop.

Pesticide residue doesn't wash off spinach leaves, making it one of the dozen fruits and vegetables that carry the highest levels of pesticides. The worst offenders include most fruits and veggies that kids really like to eat- apples, peaches, strawberries, cherries, grapes, pears, sweet peppers, celery, carrots and potatoes. The dirtiest of all: Peaches.

This succulent fruit is tasty to insects, and each peach carries multiple insecticide residues, even after washing. Chemicals soak right through the thin skin into a peach's flesh. The well-armored avocado, on the other hand, ranks in the clean group, along with onions and broccoli which outwit bugs through natural chemical defenses.

"Berries are incredibly good for you," says Dr. Gina Solomon, Senior Scientist with NRDC's Health and Environment Program. "But pesticides get into those little dimples of raspberries and strawberries."

Washing helps in many cases, but it depends on the food and the pesticide, and you really need to scrub. "Pesticides are designed not to wash off with the first rain," says Solomon. "Some are more easily scrubbed than others, for example, raspberries are incredibly fragile." Other foods, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas and carrots, have chemicals buried deep inside. "Systemic pesticides are applied to the soil. The chemical goes in through the roots and into the food," says Solomon. "It can't be washed off."

For most kids, food is the main pesticide pathway, and switching to an organic diet can eliminate some toxins completely. But with a growing family, and a bursting budget, how do you choose which organic foods to buy?

Produce and milk contain the bulk of food pesticide residues, so buy these organic if your pocketbook allows. Residues are highest on certain groups like berries, stone fruits (apples, nectarines, cherries...) and leafy greens. Select organic for soft and thin-skinned foods.

Pregnant women, infants and children under age 6 face the highest risk. But it's best to avoid pesticide exposure whenever young brains are developing, which includes the teenage years. Women planning to have children should take the same care about 6 months prior to conception.

Organic foods can cost more, so if you can't stretch your dollars to purchase an organic diet, here's some ways to make conventional food safer:

Wash all produce. Washing helps remove pesticides and bacteria from handling and shipping.

Seek out local produce, even if it's not organic. Food intended for local markets avoids extra chemicals that control freshness and ripening.

Steam or boil spinach. Cooking vastly reduces pesticides and E coli, and retains most nutrients. Peel carrots. Nearly all the pesticides get removed with the outer layer.

Eat lower fat milk, meat and dairy. Toxins accumulate in the fat.

Choose blueberries, instead of strawberries or raspberries. You still get berry-power antioxidants, but ingest fewer pesticides.

Choose American produce. Even imported organic foods have higher pesticide loads. Imported grapes are the worst offenders.

If you're really on a budget, buy frozen or canned. Crops grown for processing don't have to look as nice, so they get sprayed less than fresh crops. They're also often washed, peeled or cooked in processing which also reduces pesticides. Frozen organic exists, too. "We shouldn't be so snobbish about frozen food," says Dr. Solomon. "Flash freezing locks in the nutrients pretty well."

Print out EWG's guide to pesticides in produce listing the fruits and vegertables highest and lowest in pesticides.	Check out Local Harvest to find a farmer's market or CSA near you.	Kids in daycare and school may eat two-thirds of their meals away from home. Work with your child's program to offer organic food. Follow tips from Farm to School and Sustainable Table's education program to get started.

Be the first to comment!

New Comment

Name or Alias*
Email*: (remains private)
Your Comment
Captcha Code:
	Email me when comments are added