Pesticides in Food

joelc · 08-31-2009, 03:45 PM

I came across this and thought it was interesting enough to post.

For those that are concerned about toxins and pesticides it might be something you want to know.

FoodNews: Shopper's Guide to Pesticides
The Full List: 47 Fruits & Veggies

RANK FRUIT OR VEGGIE SCORE

1 (worst) Peach 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apple 93
3 Sweet Bell Pepper 83
4 Celery 82
5 Nectarine 81
6 Strawberries 80
7 Cherries 73
8 Kale 69
9 Lettuce 67
10 Grapes - US 66
11 Carrot 63
12 Pear 63
13 Collard Greens 60
14 Spinach 58
15 Potato 56
16 Green Beans 53
17 Summer Squash 53
18 Pepper 51
19 Cucumber 50
20 Raspberries 46
21 Grapes - CDN 44
22 Plum 44
23 Orange 44
24 Cauliflower 39
25 Tangerine 37
26 Mushrooms 36
27 Banana 34
28 Winter Squash 34
29 Cantaloupe 33
30 Cranberries 33
31 Honeydew Melon 30
32 Grapefruit 29
33 Sweet Potato 29
34 Tomato 29
35 Broccoli 28
36 Watermelon 26
37 Papaya 20
38 Eggplant 20
39 Cabbage 17
40 Kiwi 13
41 Sweet Peas - Frozen 10
42 Asparagus 10
43 Mango 9
44 Pineapple 7
45 Sweet Corn - Frozen 2
46 Avocado 1
47 (best) Onion 1 (lowest pesticide load)

BarryG · 08-31-2009, 05:19 PM

Joel, very interesting! I knew that there was a reason why I am a carnivore, none of those nasty pesticides for me, no sir! Just give me my antibiotic loaded, growth hormone injected, mad cow infected red meat and I'll be a happy guy.

Barry

brooksea · 08-31-2009, 05:38 PM

Lawdy Mercy! Collard Greens are number 13 on the list! Whatever will we do? Maybe that's why we always cook it with hog jowls and serve it with fried cornbread - got to offset those pesky pesticides with some cholesterol inducing fats!

And peaches! Number 1! I live in the "Peach State!"

Well, at least onions are the least loaded. Vidalia's are right nice!

Thanks for the info Joel! Sad to see a lot of my husband's favorites at the top!

John1 · 08-31-2009, 07:42 PM

On the other hand the spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, summer squash, potatoes, beans, peas, radishes, broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and tomatoes I'm eating have a zero pesticide load. But then I don't use pesticides in my garden.

BTW, raised beds are a great solution for gardening from a wheelchair or scooter.

thelma313 · 08-31-2009, 07:47 PM

Well isn't this just great news? Most of my favourite fruits are at the top of that list. I literally live on apples, cherries, nectarines and grapes. Thank goodness I don't see blueberries on there because I have those on a daily basis. Still I think I'm pretty much a goner. At least this inspired me to look for a good way to clean pesticides off fruit and I found this method. It's easy and you can use items that are already in your kitchen and it seems easy enough.

-Fill your kitchen sink with cold water.
-Add four tablespoons of salt and the juice of half a fresh lemon.
-Soak fruits and vegetables five to ten minutes (leafy greens two to three minutes and berries one to two minutes)
-Rinse well after soaking and use.

P.S. John, do you need a roommate?

KeeKer · 08-31-2009, 08:17 PM

Thelma I'm with you on the blueberry addiction! Just can't get enough. Although I'll have to pass on the apples(allergic). I had to read that when I just bought some gorgeous peaches! Oh well, I'll just live dangerously!

thelma313 · 08-31-2009, 08:19 PM

Every morning with my oatmeal!

KeeKer · 08-31-2009, 08:28 PM

Are you Scottish?

thelma313 · 08-31-2009, 08:40 PM

Scottish? Not even close. I just love oatmeal. I am Italian, well Canadian but my parents both immigrated to Canada from Italy. My name is Rosella. Thelma is just the user name I picked a year ago when I joined and had no idea how amazing the people I would meet here are.

pamnandy · 08-31-2009, 08:49 PM

Rosella is a beautiful name!

BarryG · 08-31-2009, 08:52 PM

So Rosella, can I start calling you that now? It is such a nice name, not that Thelma is bad but still...

I also love oatmeal and it is one of the few foods that I can still eat. Especially with fruit and yogurt and brown sugar.

No Brussell Sprouts on the list, even if they had zero pesticide load I still wouldn't eat them, YUCK!

KeeKer · 08-31-2009, 08:53 PM

Are you Scottish too? I think I'll make you two honorary Scotsmen. Not often you find people who love oatmeal who aren't!

thelma313 · 08-31-2009, 09:17 PM

Thank you, Pam!

Barry of course you can call me Rosella. I just chose a user name last year not realizing I would meet anyone I like on here. I just came on to post a question and had no idea about any types of forum so didn't know what to expect. Now I feel weird that some of you don't know my real name since I like you all so much.

BarryG · 08-31-2009, 09:48 PM

To paraphrase Billy Shakespeare;

What's in a name? that which we call Rosella
By any other name would be as sweet;

And we like you too!

John1 · 08-31-2009, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelma313

Well isn't this just great news? Most of my favourite fruits are at the top of that list. I literally live on apples, cherries, nectarines and grapes. Thank goodness I don't see blueberries on there because I have those on a daily basis. Still I think I'm pretty much a goner. At least this inspired me to look for a good way to clean pesticides off fruit and I found this method. It's easy and you can use items that are already in your kitchen and it seems easy enough.

-Fill your kitchen sink with cold water.
-Add four tablespoons of salt and the juice of half a fresh lemon.
-Soak fruits and vegetables five to ten minutes (leafy greens two to three minutes and berries one to two minutes)
-Rinse well after soaking and use.

P.S. John, do you need a roommate?

Rosella eh? What a lovely name. And as a matter of fact I could use a roomate, especially one who is a bit OCD about making beds. Blueberries are at their peak here now and we have a bumper crop this year. Here are a few garden snaps to tempt you including one of my self-propelled, automatic, organic, pesticidal control unit ensuring the lettuce is safe.