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Understanding the 2025 Dirty Dozen
Each year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, a ranking of fruits and vegetables most likely to carry pesticide residues. The 2025 edition added two new items to its notorious “Dirty Dozen” list: blackberries and potatoes. These additions sparked fresh concern among shoppers hoping to avoid chemicals without abandoning their healthy eating goals.
But the aim of the list isn’t to spark fear. Rather, it’s designed to inform consumers about potential pesticide exposure and empower them to make smarter choices, according to Alexa Friedman, senior scientist at the EWG. Nutritionists echo that message. “Everyone should eat more fruits and vegetables—organic or conventional,” Friedman emphasized.
Dietitian Elizabeth Shaw, who was not involved in the study, agrees. “My goal is to get people to eat more produce, not less,” she told The Epoch Times. Whether grown conventionally or organically, produce remains an essential part of a balanced, disease-fighting diet.
Why Certain Foods Make the List
The Dirty Dozen includes the 12 types of produce most likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues. This year’s analysis looked at over 53,000 samples of 47 different fruits and vegetables, using data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
What set blackberries and potatoes apart this year were high levels of toxic chemicals. Blackberries were found to have pesticide residues in 93 percent of samples tested, with each sample averaging four different chemicals. One of the most frequent was cypermethrin, a compound the EPA classifies as a likely human carcinogen. Potatoes, meanwhile, showed high rates of chlorpropham, a chemical banned in Europe since 2019.
For the first time, the EWG also incorporated toxicity into their ranking system—not just the frequency and concentration of residues. As a result, foods with more harmful compounds now rank higher on the list, even if the total volume of chemicals is lower.
The 2025 Dirty Dozen includes strawberries, spinach, kale, grapes, peaches, cherries, nectarines, pears, apples, blackberries, blueberries, and potatoes. Many of these have thin skins or porous surfaces that make them more likely to absorb and retain pesticide residues—even after washing.
Looking to the Clean Fifteen
On the other side of the spectrum, the EWG also releases the “Clean Fifteen,” a list of fruits and vegetables with the lowest levels of pesticide contamination. This year, bananas and cauliflower joined the ranks, alongside produce like avocados, pineapples, onions, and papayas.
These items typically have thick skins or outer layers that protect the edible portions from direct contact with pesticides. For example, cauliflower is shielded by outer leaves that are usually discarded before cooking. Likewise, bananas and avocados have peels that are not eaten.
According to the EWG, nearly 60 percent of the Clean Fifteen items had no detectable pesticide residues at all, and only 16 percent had more than one detectable chemical. “For people looking to reduce pesticide exposure, buying from the Clean Fifteen is a great place to start,” said Alexis Temkin, vice president for science at EWG.
What the Research Really Says
Concerns about pesticide exposure are not unfounded. Scientific studies have linked certain chemicals to serious health issues including cancer, hormone disruption, and neurological effects—especially in children. A 2024 study found that early-life exposure to pesticides could negatively impact cognitive development from infancy through adolescence.
However, nutritionists like Shaw stress that the vast majority of produce on the market falls well within legal safety limits. “More than 99 percent of the produce tested by the USDA is below legal safety limits set by the EPA,” she said.
Government testing programs like the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program regularly assess residue levels on produce, especially items commonly consumed by children. These tests continue to show that the pesticide residues detected are generally well under federal safety thresholds.
Moreover, research continues to reinforce the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables—regardless of how they’re grown. One large-scale study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health found that consuming seven or more servings of produce per day lowered the risk of premature death by 42 percent. Cancer risk dropped by 25 percent and heart disease risk by 31 percent.
Another study published in the British Journal of Cancer found no meaningful difference in cancer rates between women who ate organic food and those who didn’t. Interesting, right?
Simple Steps to Reduce Exposure
If you’re still concerned about pesticide exposure, you don’t need to go fully organic to eat safely. A few simple practices can significantly reduce risk.
Washing produce under running water for at least 15 seconds can remove a large portion of surface residue, dirt, and microbes. For firmer produce like apples or potatoes, scrubbing with a produce brush helps remove additional contaminants. Peeling or discarding the outer leaves of vegetables like cabbage or lettuce can further reduce pesticide intake.
Soaking foods like berries in warm water may help loosen stubborn residues from textured surfaces. But skip the soap—both the FDA and USDA advise against using any cleaning products on produce, as they can leave harmful residues of their own.
The Bigger Picture
In the end, the EWG’s list is meant to help—not hinder—your health. “Buy what you can afford, be it organic or conventional produce, rinse it, and eat it,” said Shaw. The bigger concern isn’t pesticide residue—it’s that fear of it could scare people away from eating produce altogether.
“You will do far more harm than good by taking away important nutrients the body needs from fruits and vegetables,” she said. The takeaway? Keep high-quality produce on your plate—and be smart. In fact, the smarter you are, the more likely you are to turn to your backyard garden for health.
