Alliance for Food and Farming: EWG's 2023 ‘Dirty Dozen’ list is discredited by scientists

Every year, the Environmental Working Group publishes the “Dirty Dozen” list of the conventionally grown fruits and vegetables found to have the most pesticides.

Released March 15, the 2023 EWG list adds blueberries and green beans, knocking tomatoes down to No. 13 and celery to No. 15.

The idea is to advise consumers that these items may be best purchased organically grown.

The effect?

Well, some industry groups say the list is fearmongering and reduces produce consumption overall, especially for disadvantaged populations. “The risks associated with not eating enough produce far outweigh any concern associated with eating produce on the dirty dozen list,” Lauren Manaker, a registered dietitian on the Eat This, Not That! medical review board, said in the health publication’s report. She noted that contrary to popular belief, organic produce isn’t pesticide free, and sometimes organic or natural pesticides or additives can be concerning when in high doses.

The EWG said as much in its news release: “Everyone — adults and kids — should eat more fruits and vegetables, whether organic or not,“ EWG toxicologist Alexis Temkin said. “A produce-rich diet provides many health benefits.”

Learn: Former PMG Editor Ashley Nickle's detailed report on EWG's 2021 list

But it’s quite a hot-button issue.

Now, the Watsonville, Calif.-based Alliance for Food and Farming has released a report citing a lot of research, old and new, disputing the scientific soundness of the EWG’s research and data collection used to make the list that’s infamous (in produce circles, at least) yet widely used (among consumers).

The alliance is a nonprofit group representing organic and conventional farmers and is voluntarily funded by conventional and organic farmers and farming groups. Contributors are limited to farmers of fruits and vegetables, companies that sell, market or ship fruits and vegetables or organizations that represent produce farmers. Its mission is to deliver credible information about the safety of fruits and vegetables.

See the alliance's Pesticide Residue Calculator.

The alliance points to the peer-reviewed research in the report written by Carl K. Winter and Josh M. Katz of the Department of Food Science and Technology at University of California, Davis, published in 2011 in the Journal of Toxicology.

“In summary, findings conclusively demonstrate that consumer exposures to the 10 most frequently detected pesticides on EWG's ‘Dirty Dozen’ commodity list are at negligible levels and that the EWG methodology is insufficient to allow any meaningful rankings among commodities,” Katz and Winter wrote. “We concur with EWG President Kenneth Cook who maintains that ‘We recommend that people eat healthy by eating more fruits and vegetables, whether conventional or organic,’ but our findings do not indicate that substituting organic forms of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ commodities for conventional forms will lead to any measurable consumer health benefit.”

It's important to note that besides personal health, motivations for buying organic produce could be farmworker welfare and environmental protection.

Read the report: Dietary Exposure to Pesticide Residues from Commodities Alleged to Contain the Highest Contamination Levels

For more recent data, the alliance points to the 2021 report from the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program, which consistently finds that more than 99% of foods sampled had residue levels well below Environmental Protection Agency safety standards, with 25% having no detectable residues at all.

According to the USDA: “Based on the PDP data, consumers can feel confident about eating a diet that is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.”

And the EPA states: “EPA is confident that the fruits and vegetables our children are eating are safer than ever. EPA evaluates new and existing pesticides to ensure that they can be used with a reasonable certainty of no harm to infants and children as well as adults. EPA works continually to review and improve safety standards that apply to pesticide residues on food.”

The “Dirty Dozen” list authors admit that their list does not assess risk nor do they apply basic tenets of toxicology in the development of their list, according to the alliance report. From EWG’s “Dirty Dozen” report: “The Shoppers Guide does not incorporate risk assessment into the calculations. All pesticides are weighted equally, and we do not factor in the levels deemed acceptable by the EPA.”

Research published in the journal Nutrition Today has also shown that fear-based messaging used by groups like the EWG may result in consumers purchasing less produce — organic or conventionally grown. 

And, in a survey conducted by the Alliance for Food and Farming, 94% of registered dietitians agreed that the “Dirty Dozen” messaging negatively impacts their ability to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables among their clients and consumers.

“The consumption of fruits and vegetables can help decrease chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. These fear tactics used in the ‘Dirty Dozen’ report are actually hurting consumers, especially the vulnerable populations, and may lead consumers to eat even less produce,” Dr. Sylvia Klinger, founder of Hispanic Food Communications who serves on the alliance’s management board, said in the report.

In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2022, only 1 in 10 Americans consume enough fruits and vegetables each day, which is unchanged from previous survey levels announced in 2015. Those living below or close to the poverty level were the least likely to meet vegetable recommendations.

“Continued efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption by improving access and affordability in diverse community and institutional settings will help mitigate health disparities among U.S. residents,” the CDC report said. “Additional policies and programs that will increase access to fruits and vegetables in places where U.S. residents live, learn, work and play, might increase consumption and improve health.”

If it’s not abundantly clear already, the alliance is against how EWG makes its annual list and the effect it has on the public.

“Consumers can and should disregard these types of lists,” Klinger said. “Simply follow the advice of dietitians and health experts and choose the fruits and vegetables that you enjoy are affordable and accessible for you and your family, but choose to eat more every day for better health and a longer life.”

For consumers still concerned about residues, the FDA states that washing fruits and vegetables under running tap water often removes or eliminates any residues that may be present. Never use soaps or detergents to wash produce.

This is EWG’s 2023 list of fruits and veggies with the most pesticides:

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, collard and mustard greens
4. Peaches
5. Pears
6. Nectarines
7. Apples
8. Grapes
9. Bell and hot peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green beans

This is EWG’s 2023 list of fruits and veggies with the least amount of pesticides.

1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Onions
5. Papayas
6. Sweet peas
7. Asparagus
8. Honeydew melons
9. Kiwi
10. Cabbage
11. Mushrooms
12. Mangoes
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Watermelon
15. Carrots