Ignore the “Dirty Dozen”

Ignore the “Dirty Dozen”

While the definition of “clean” eating varies by the person saying the phrase, the one thing that often comes up when I ask people their interpretation of clean eating is “I wash my fruits and veggie.” Good choice. 

That is a good rule of thumb for everyone and all fruits and veggies, even those with inedible (or usually not eaten) skins like melons and avocados. Unwashed produce is potentially dangerous. A knife can take the bacteria and carry it through to the edible portion of the fruit or vegetables, and there is a whole new way to get sick. 

And, you never know how many people touched it when it was at the store anyway. But, I remember when someone dropped a container of grape tomatoes at Costco, picked them all up, put them in the container, and put is back on the pile of other tomatoes. Yikes. 

Another thing that people will bring up is the infamous Dirty Dozen list. This “dirty dozen” is the list of foods that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) comes up with that suggest we should “always” buy organic. 

A couple of things to point out here: 

I don’t “always” buy organic anything. It is no secret that I have been an avid Costco shopper for more than 20 years. Nothing beats their prices and overall quality of food, not to mention I can also stock up on socks, golf gloves, and a new television when I need one. But that isn’t the point.

I will buy organically grown foods, but I won’t go out of my way for them or avoid conventionally grown foods in favor of organic. I buy food. If the price is reasonable and I like it, it also happens to be organic? Fine. 

But the price is reasonable, and I like it, and it isn’t organic? So what. 

Even if the food is on the dirty dozen list – I don’t care. I will buy tomatoes, nectarines, grapes, apples, and cherries – and not pay attention to whether they are organic. 

But what about the pesticide residue? First of all – I lived in the south for two and a half years as a kid where “smoky joe” drove through the neighborhood in the summer, spraying for bugs. That’s the stuff that will cause problems later in life. 

But the EWG lists have skewed the numbers a bit. So while it is true that these fruits and veggies do have a higher pesticide residue than other fruits and veggies, what it doesn’t say them across that board, residues are very low, if even present. Period. 

Research shows that if people follow this list, there is no decrease in risk related to pesticide exposure because the residue is very low on conventionally grown produce.

Additionally, a sampling conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) consistently shows that more than 99% of any residue on foods (if they are even detected) is far below the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) established safe levels. 

Now, I know some people may be skeptical of government agencies, and I have even had people tell me that they don’t follow any government recommendations ever. Though they admit, when asked, they wear seatbelts and stop at stop signs. Weird. I guess they also pay sales tax, but I tend to move on when people tell me such extreme statements. Oh, who am I kidding? I do point out these things and ask if they also have a driver’s license, a social security number, and items the government mandates or recommends, and people just DO.

And additional research also suggests that this list and the messaging around avoiding the so-called dirty dozen can discourage people from purchasing organic or conventional produce, especially among low-income shoppers. 

While I may not pay much attention to the details of organic or not (a point of privilege, I know), I also teach nutrition and meal planning classes to a population that gets $60 for their food each week. I specifically tell them to go with the most cost-effective for them. And it usually isn’t organic. 

One place I direct consumers to is the Safe Fruits and Veggies Pesticide Residue Calculator, where someone can look up how much fruits and veggies they can eat before pesticide residue is a concern. 

So, those tomatoes, nectarines, grapes, apples, and cherries? 

I could eat 946 servings of cherry tomatoes in one day without any effect, even if the cherry tomatoes have the highest pesticide residue recorded for cherry tomatoes by USDA. One cup is a serving of cherry tomatoes (or any tomato), so that would be 946 CUPS of tomatoes.

Or 5,759 servings of nectarines in one day without any effect, even if the nectarines have the highest pesticide residue recorded for nectarines by USDA. This would be 5,759 nectarines.

Or 672 servings of grapes in one day without any effect even if the grapes have the highest pesticide residue recorded for grapes by USDA. There are 16 grapes in a serving, so 10,752 grapes.

Or 850 servings of apple in one day without any effect even if the apple has the highest pesticide residue recorded for apple by USDA. This would be 850 apples.

Or 1,190 servings of cherries in one day without any effect even if the cherries have the highest pesticide residue recorded for cherries by USDA. One serving of cherries is 21 cherries making this equal to 24,990 cherries.

That’s a lot of servings of fruit. And if anyone is eating that much each day, there are more significant issues than the pesticide residue. 

So, STOP living by, quoting, or suggesting that we follow the dirty dozen. It isn’t worth the time or effort. Just eat your fruits and veggies and don’t discriminate. If you want to? Fine, but there is no need to do so. #NoMoreDirtyDozen