Home Publisher's Point of View Environmental Working Group Site Ranks Pesticide Load of Fruits, Vegetables

Environmental Working Group Site Ranks Pesticide Load of Fruits, Vegetables

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If you knew a vegetable or piece of fruit was covered in pesticides, would you eat it? Serve it to your guests? Of course not. But really, how do you know whether or not what you are serving to your guests is more likely or less likely to carry pesticides than other types of produce? If you purchase vegetables and fruit from farmers who grow organic produce, you have good reason to feel safe, but what if you don’t buy organic? In a busy hotel environment there is often no time to consider such things as pesticides but it is important. In fact, I believe you have a moral responsibility to serve your guests—especially children—produce that has the least chance of doing them harm.

I recently came across a website that scores vegetables and fruits based on pesticide load. Operated by the Environmental Working Group, the “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides” ranks 47 fruits and vegetables from highest pesticide load to lowest pesticide load. The ranking is based on analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Fruits and vegetables are ranked by their likelihood of being consistently contaminated with the greatest number of pesticides at the highest concentration levels. Nearly all the studies used to create the ranking tested produce after it had been rinsed or peeled. Most of us believe rinsing and peeling eliminates pesticide toxicity but that is not always the case.

Which fruits and vegetables are among the top 10 based on the highest pesticide load? From worst to less worse, they include: peach, apple, sweet bell pepper, celery, nectarine, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, and grapes (imported). At the very bottom of the list of 47 is onion, avocado, corn and pineapple. They are least likely to include pesticide residue.

Avoid the Top 12 Most Contaminated

According to the Environmental Working Group’s site, pesticides are known to cause cancer, nerve damage and have negative reproductive effects. However, people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. To access a list of the 47 fruits and vegetables ranked by pesticide exposure, click here.

Be sure to take the necessary steps to protect you and your guests from pesticide exposure. Work with your suppliers. Ask them for information on how what they sell is grown. Support those suppliers and farmers who provide organic produce grown without toxic pesticides. If enough people in purchasing positions demand change, it will happen.

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