Your Organic Shopping Cheat Sheet

When it comes to food quality, you want only the best for yourself and your family.However, you [...]

When it comes to food quality, you want only the best for yourself and your family.

However, you also want to not go broke.

Can these two things possibly exist together in perfect harmony?

The answer is yes and no. When it comes to buying organic foods, there are things that are worth the splurge, and there are things that are worth skipping.

Recent USDA tests found a staggering 165 different pesticides on thousands of fruits and vegetables samples, with those harmful chemicals still persisting on the produce even after they were washed. It's no wonder then that the organically produced food sector (which only accounts for 4 percent of all US food sales) has experienced double-digit growth over the past few years.

Case in point? Consumers are willing to cough up the cash if it means healthy and safe food for their families.

Luckily, the Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides helps identify fruits and veggies that have the highest and lowest pesticide residues to ensure you're serving up the very best quality foods for the ones you love.

Keep these lists handy next time you're at the grocery store for a quick and efficient way to shop smarter!

FILTHY FOURTEEN

It's more than worth it to spend the extra money to buy the below foods organic.

Apples, Peaches, Nectarines, Strawberries, Grapes, Celery, Spinach, Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Snap Peas, Leavy Greens, Hot Peppers, and Potatoes.

SCARY STATS (via the EWG)

  • 99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
  • The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
  • A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
  • Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece.

CLEAN FIFTEEN

Don't waste your money buying the below foods organic.

Avocados, Sweet Corn, Pineapples, Cabbage, Frozen Sweat Peas, Onions, Asparagus, Mangoes, Papayas, Kiwis, Eggplant, Grapefruit, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, and Sweet Potatoes.

ENCOURAGING STATS (via the EWG)

  • Avocados were the cleanest
  • 89 percent of pineapples, 82 percent of kiwi, 80 percent of papayas, 88 percent of mango and 61 percent of cantaloupe had no residues.
  • No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen™ tested positive for more than 4 types of pesticides.
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