As far as fruits are concerned, almost no pesticide penetrates the outer skin,
so peeling fruits eliminates much of this problem. If the grower does his job
right, he
does not spray anything a few weeks before harvest. The sun will burn off
almost
all of the pesticide. Simple washing of fruit with even plain water removes a
good
deal of any latent pesticide. Soap would even be better. There is no guarantee
that
fruit labled organic has not been sprayed with chemicals. If an orchard is
under a
heavy insect attack, normal organic defenses will not do the job and they will
spary
to save their crop. After all, that is their livelihood and they can't afford
to lose all
their investment. The best insurance is to either peel or wash all store bought
fruit.
Sherwin D.
Billy Rose wrote:
I can't remember if I post this here recently so here goes.
http://www.foodnews.org/
Pesticide load on commercial produce.
The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies
RANK FRUIT OR VEGGIE SCORE
1 (worst) Peaches 100 (highest
pesticide load)
2 Apples 89
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 82
7 Cherries 75
8 Pears 65
9 Grapes - Imported 65
10 Spinach 60
11 Lettuce 59
12 Potatoes 58
13 Carrots 57
14 Green Beans 53
15 Hot Peppers 53
16 Cucumbers 52
17 Raspberries 47
18 Plums 45
19 Grapes - Domestic 43
20 Oranges 42
21 Grapefruit 40
22 Tangerine 38
23 Mushrooms 37
24 Cantaloupe 34
25 Honeydew Melon 31
26 Tomatoes 30
27 Sweet Potatoes 30
28 Watermelon 28
29 Winter Squash 27
30 Cauliflower 27
31 Blueberries 24
32 Papaya 21
33 Broccoli 18
34 Cabbage 17
35 Bananas 16
36 Kiwi 14
37 Sweet peas - frozen 11
38 Asparagus 11
39 Mango 9
40 Pineapples 7
41 Sweet Corn - frozen 2
42 Avocado 1
43 (best) Onions 1 (lowest
pesticide load)
Note: We ranked a total of 43 different fruits and vegetables but grapes
are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.
- Billy
Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)