According to a survey by the American “Consumer Reports,” some fresh, frozen, and canned non-organic fruits and vegetables have been found to be contaminated to varying degrees by pesticides, including both imported and domestically grown produce. Blueberries, potatoes, and strawberries had extremely high pesticide levels, while green peas were the only organic version with high pesticide levels.
The report released on Thursday, April 18, utilized data from the Department of Agriculture’s seven-year testing of traditional and organic agricultural products, finding some of the highest pesticide levels in both domestic and imported agrarian products. Out of 100 most contaminated agricultural product samples, 65 were imported, with 52 of them coming from Mexico.
The organization examined 59 common fruits and vegetables, including not only fresh produce but also canned, dried, or frozen fruits and vegetables in some cases. They found that 20% of the tested foods had significant pesticide levels, with some foods posing a “very high” pesticide risk.
This analysis revealed that among 25 fruits, 16 had lower pesticide risk levels, while among 34 vegetables, 21 had lower risk levels. Consumer Reports food safety experts stated that even children and pregnant women can safely consume three or more servings of these foods daily. Ten varieties of fruits and vegetables had moderate risks, with a maximum recommended intake of three servings per day.
On the other hand, over 10 types of fruits and vegetables raised greater concern. High-risk fruits and vegetables for children and pregnant women should be limited to less than one serving per day, and those with very high pesticide risk should be consumed in portions less than half a serving. Others should also restrict their consumption of these foods.
Nearly two-thirds of foods tested (including almost all organic products) had minimal pesticide residues.
Pesticide testing results for imported and domestically grown green peas were notably high, even for samples labeled as organic.
“This is the only organic food we found with significant pesticides,” said James Rogers, Food Safety Research and Testing Director at Consumer Reports.
Almost all tested green peas were contaminated with acet