June 15--In a new study of pesticides and produce, the fruits and vegetables that need to be peeled have been branded the best.
The apple, eaten skin-on, is at the bottom of the barrel.
Conventionally grown celery, strawberries and peaches also have comparatively high amounts of pesticide residue, according to the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based nonprofit that studies food contaminants and other issues.
That produce is at the top of the group's "Dirty Dozen" list, but farm advocates say the organization's annual study grossly overstates the risk of eating farm-raised produce.
The group used six criteria to judge the fruits and vegetables, including the amount of pesticides on the items and the number of pesticides found on them.
"They put out this study, and it only serves to scare people away from the exact food they should be eating," said Adam Sharp, director of public policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau.
The Environmental Working Group recommends buying organically grown -- or pesticide-free -- versions of fruits and vegetables on its "worst" list, said spokesman Alex Formuzis.
If organic produce isn't available or is too expensive, consumers should buy the conventionally grown versions, Formuzis said. The health benefits are too important, he said.
"Never pick a bag of Doritos over a conventionally grown apple," he said.
And peeling that apple might not make sense because many of its nutrients are in the skin, he said. In addition, pesticides can enter a fruit through the plant's roots.
Onions, corn, pineapples and avocados are the lowest in pesticide residue, according to the group. They are at the top of the group's "Clean 15" list, for which the Working Group says conventionally grown versions are generally fine to eat.
Sharp said government scrutiny of pesticides used on fruits and vegetables is intense and ongoing.
"There is no risk to public health," he said. "Any of the products that are being used on these fruits and vegetables has gone through this scrutiny. This report, in my mind, is absolutely counterproductive."
The data used to create the lists come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Alliance for Food and Farming, a California-based farmers' organization, quickly dismissed the Working Group's findings. The USDA data actually help show that small children could eats hundreds or thousands of servings of a fruit or vegetable without any negative impact, the alliance says.
"The residues, if they are found at all, are 10 to 100 times below the levels established by the federal government," said Teresa Thorne, an alliance spokeswoman.
The alliance suggests washing the produce under running water as recommended by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
"That's a common-sense action that we should all do," Sharp said.
The Environmental Working Group, however, says that its lists are based on the ways people normally eat produce, including washing it.
Dispatch reporter Theodore Decker contributed to this story.
jeb.phillips@dispatch.com
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