Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen: What Pesticide Data Means for You
Key takeaways
- The "Dirty Dozen" ranks produce by pesticide residue; the "Clean Fifteen" are lowest.
- Measured residues on conventional produce are almost always far below safety limits.
- The health benefit of eating produce outweighs residue risk; buy organic for high-residue items if budget allows.
What the lists are
Each year advocacy groups rank fruits and vegetables by pesticide residue. The database tracks a pesticide-load tier per food; these carry the highest measured load:
Measured per 100 g, ranked live from the Ration database. Every value is cited to published research.
Keep it in perspective
Residues on conventional produce are typically a small fraction of established safety thresholds.[1] Reviews find the benefit of eating more produce far outweighs the theoretical risk from residues, and washing removes a meaningful share.[2]
Lowest-residue produce
Foods with thick peels or low measured residue make up the low-load list:
The lowest measured levels in the database. A food missing here has not been measured, which is not the same as containing none.
Bottom line
Do not let residue rankings scare you off vegetables. If budget is limited, spend organic dollars on the highest-load items and eat conventional for the rest.
Put this to work in your own food log. Track it free with Ration →
