When you bite into a fresh fruit or vegetable in the United States, there's a pretty high chance that pesticides are tagging along on your produce.
Advocacy organization the Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently reported that a whopping 75% of sampled non-organic fresh produce items contained pesticides in 2024—and some of those fruits and veggies have particularly high levels in comparison to their peers.
This new data was part of an annual report on pesticides in produce that the EWG releases as a guide for consumers.
This year, the report was based on tests of more than 47,000 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables conducted by the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The EWG used the data to compile a "Dirty Dozen" list of the fruits and veggies with the highest levels of pesticides.
Here are the 12 most contaminated produce categories in 2024—strawberries; spinach; leafy greens like kale, collard, and mustard; grapes; peaches; pears; nectarines; apples; bell and hot peppers; cherries; blueberries; and green beans.
Both Manaker and the EWG also stressed that eating enough fresh produce in general is far more important than avoiding fruits and veggies that may contain traces of pesticide.
"Everyone should eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whether organic or conventionally grown. The health benefits of such a diet outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure," the EWG report read.