The EWG uses six measures to determine pesticide contamination of produce:

Percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides

Percent of samples with two or more detectable pesticides

Average number of pesticides found on a single sample

Average amount of pesticides found, measured in parts per million

Maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample

Total number of pesticides found on the crop

The EWG states that this methodology “reflects the overall pesticide loads of common fruits and vegetables” 

You do have to remember to also think all the way down the food chain.  For example, if you’re purchasing organic apples, you’ll also want to buy organic apple sauce, apple juice, dried apples, if there’s apples in your trail mix it needs to be organic, etc, The pesticide levels do not go away or diminish when the item is processed, it’s still there.  Make sure you’re paying attention to what you’re buying from the Dirty Dozen list.

The Clean 15 are those fruits and vegetables which do not need to be purchased organically because they have the lowest uptake of pesticides.  It’s still recommended that you thoroughly wash all produce before consuming it, whether it’s organic or not, Dirty Dozen, or Clean Fifteen.  

Unfortunately, strawberries continue to be at the top of the list.  That means anything strawberry needs to be organic – strawberries, strawberry jam, dried strawberries, strawberry ice cream, etc.  All of it.  And the leafy greens (kale, collards, and mustard greens) continue to hold on to spot #3.  If you’re adding dark leafy greens to your diet, and you should be, these need to be organic.  

Remember to watch ingredients in other related food.  For example, if you’re purchasing organic apples, you’ll also want to buy organic apple sauce, apple juice, dried apples, if there’s apples in your trail mix it needs to be organic, etc,  The pesticide levels do not go away or diminish when the item is processed, it’s still there.  So make sure you’re paying attention to what you’re buying from the Dirty Dozen list.

The 2022 Dirty Dozen contains the same 12 foods that were on the 2021 list, and in almost the exact same order. The only difference is that bell and hot peppers moved up from the No. 10 slot to No. 7, meaning that there’s even more reason to purchase organic peppers.

Here is the 2022 Dirty Dozen:                                

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, collard, and mustard greens
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Bell and hot peppers
8. Cherries
9. Peaches
10. Pears
11. Celery
12. Tomatoes