Study: Fruits, vegetables contain PFAS residues

Karl Schneider

Indianapolis Star USA TODAY NETWORK

INDIANAPOLIS – Be careful what you put in your grocery cart, even if you think you’re eating healthy.

Some non-organic fruits and vegetables possess pesticide residues with potentially hazardous “forever chemicals,” according to an annual survey by the Environmental Working Group released March 24.

The organization’s latest report lists a “Dirty Dozen,” or common fruits and vegetables that are the most contaminated with pesticides.

The group issues the report annually by assessing U.S. Department of Agriculture data and cross referencing it with pesticide toxicity levels. This year’s results show most of the pesticide residues found on the produce contain PFAS, manufactured chemicals that do not easily break down in the human body or environment.

“Consumers have a right to know what’s on their food,” EWG science analyst Varun Subramaniam said in a news release. “This year’s findings underscore the presence of PFAS pesticides in the food supply.”

The EWG’s report found over 200 pesticides on the top dozen contaminated fruits and vegetables. Spinach contains the most chemicals followed by kale, collard and mustard greens, strawberries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, cherries, apples, blackberries, pears, potatoes and blueberries.

Certain chemicals used on fruits and vegetables have PFAS. Three pesticides that regularly showed up in EWG’s report include fludioxonil, which was found in 14% of all produce samples and about 90% of all peaches and plums

tested, as well as fluopyran and bifenthrin.

More research is needed to determine how exposure to these PFAS chemicals could affect human health, the report states, specifically around conditions where people are exposed to a mixture of pesticides at once.

People should still eat plenty of fresh produce with their meals, the report says, but switching to organic fruits and vegetables can reduce intake of these harmful chemicals.

Organic produce typically costs more, so EWG recommends trying to prioritize buying organic items that are on the group’s “Dirty Dozen.” The group found lower amounts of pesticide residue on items that did not make the “Dirty Dozen.”

The report recommends washing all fresh produce for safer food consumption. While washing produce will remove some pesticides, it will not remove all chemicals.

The report also produced a “Clean Fifteen,” which showcases the fruits and vegetables with the least amount of chemical residues.

More than half of the fruits and vegetables sampled in the “Clean Fifteen” group had no detectable pesticide residues, the study states. Pineapple was ranked as most clean, followed by sweet corn (fresh and frozen), avocados, papaya, onions, sweet peas (frozen), asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, watermelon, mangoes, bananas, carrots, mushrooms and kiwis.

IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

Strawberries were among the produce found to have most pesticide residue, according to the Environmental Working Group.

TONY GIBERSON/PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL FILE