Kale Is One of the Most Contaminated Vegetables You Can Buy. Here ’s Why

Each year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes its Dirty Dozen list, which ranks the 12 pieces of produce that contain the highest amounts of pesticide residues. This year, one of the dirtiest fruits and vegetables turns out to be kale, occupying the third spot on the EWG’s list of most contaminated. Strawberries top the list, followed by spinach. (The full 2019 Dirty Dozen list, ranked from most contaminated to least, include strawberries, spinach, kale, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery and potatoes.) The list is compiled from the results of regular testing done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on pesticide residues. This year, the tests showed that more than 92% of conventionally grown kale samples harbored at least two pesticide residues. Some contained as many as 18. The USDA and FDA alternate testing among nearly four dozen fruits and vegetables every year and do not test the same ones annually. Nor do the agencies look for the same pesticides in each round of tests. The last time kale was tested was in 2009, when it ranked eighth on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list. “The fact that the agencies don’t test each produce item every year is problematic,” says Nneka Leiba, director of healthy living science at EWG. “And more importantly, the fact that the USDA and FDA aren’t testing for all the pesticides used in fruits and vegetables is a ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Diet/Nutrition Source Type: news