Choose your fruits and veggies carefully

  

They are wonderfully shiny and come in delightful shades of red, green and yellow — but apples top the contaminated by pesticides list says a new report.  In contrast, onions hardly scream ‘I’m beautiful and delicious’ in a store’s fruit and veg section, but they are the cleanest.

The seventh annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce report from the Environmental Working Group details contamination by pesticides and fungicides in fruit and vegetables.

THE DIRTIEST....

According to researchers at Purdue University in Indiana, apples now top the list as the most contaminated by pesticides in 98% of the more than 700 samples tested, even after they are peeled and washed.

1) Apples                       2) Celery

3) Strawberries           4) Peaches

5) Spinach

Strawberries are the third most contaminated fruit and veg and other popular fruits such as grapes, blueberries are not that far behind.

versus the CLEANEST.....

1) Onions                2) Sweet corn

3) Pineapples        4) Avocado

5) Asparagus

According to the group, eating 5 servings a day of the most contaminated fruits and vegetables is akin to ingesting 14 different pesticides per day. While the chemicals keep both bugs and bacteria away from crops, they are also linked to various health problems, from nervous system disorders to cancer.

The researchers came to their conclusions after analysing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration from 2000 to 2009. Each produce item received a score based on how many pesticides were found in the testing and at what levels.  Most fruit and vegetable samples were washed and peeled, if necessary, before testing. That way the chemical readings closely reflect the levels present when the produce is consumed, the report said.

Researchers recommend that consumers get around the problem by choosing organic. However, one food sciences professor cautions that a natural or organic label on produce does not automatically make it safe, edmonton.ctv.ca reports. Rick Holley, of the University of Manitoba, said ‘The E. coli outbreak in Germany clearly shows locally grown organic produce was able to kill 35 people.’

Our comments

This reminds me of the fairy tale Snowhite – who bite an apple spiked with poison and died almost instantly. Most of us cannot help it as we do not have the time or space to grow own produce.  Despite the negative aspect, do not ignore the fruits and vegetables as their health benefits outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure. Choose only organic apples if you want to be extra safe.

As most fresh fruits are harvested from farms, bacterial contamination is inevitable. Notice those nice-looking berries kept in the fridge end up with mold on their insides?  The trick is the wash them with vinegar.  Prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider may work well) and ten parts water. Dump the fruit into the mixture and swirl around. Drain and rinse before you pop in the fridge.  What happens is that the vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit.  In this way, raspberries can last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft.

You’re so berry happy to see them sitting pretty in your fridge.