Avocados placed second on the Environmental Working Group's "Clean 15" list of low-pesticide produce.

While watching an X-Files rerun recently, we saw an episode in which people flew into homicidal rages after being unwittingly exposed to an experimental pesticide. It was still on our mind the next day, when we saw that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) had updated its Shoppers’ Guide to Pesticides — the “Dirty Dozen” list of fruits and vegetables that contain the most pesticide residue and the “Clean 15” with the least.

While effects of pesticide ingestion don’t fall into the supernatural realm of TV, they are pretty serious and alarming, with adverse consequences for the nervous and endocrine systems and possibly increasing the risk of some cancers. In fact, a new analysis of U.S. health data has linked children’s attention-deficit disorder with exposure to common pesticides found on fruits and vegetables.

EWG’s site features an interview with Andrew Weil, M.D., who notes, “Pesticides are toxins, and they can’t be good for you. So the only question is how bad they are. And I think in many cases, the answer is pretty bad.” The good news, however, is that we can use the guide to lower pesticide intake. According to EWG research, people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the Dirty Dozen list ingest about 10 pesticides daily versus those who eat from the Clean 15, who average fewer than two pesticides per day. The guide is updated every year based on lab tests conducted by the USDA Pesticide Data Program.

New to the Dirty Dozen this year are domestic blueberries, spinach and potatoes, joining celery, peaches and strawberries — the top three — as well as apples, nectarines, bell peppers, kale, cherries and imported grapes. Though lettuce, pears and carrots have been bumped out of the top 12, they still are on the pesticide-heavy end of the full list of 49 from best to worst, along with imported blueberries and domestic green beans. As for the Clean 15, cantaloupe, grapefruit and honeydew replace papaya, broccoli and tomatoes. Broccoli now is ranked 19 and tomatoes are 21, but papaya is completely gone from the full list. Rounding out the Clean 15 lowest in pesticides: onions, avocado and sweet corn in the top three, followed by pineapples, mangoes, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, watermelon and sweet potatoes.

And though washing fruits and vegetables before consumption always is a good idea, it doesn’t affect the list rankings. The produce is tested as it typically is eaten — washed and/or peeled. But that doesn’t mean we have to forgo bell peppers and apples, or throw out our recipes for spinach and strawberry salad. EWG recommends buying organic whenever possible, but organic produce can raise the grocery bill, and sometimes isn’t available. The list was created so shoppers could make informed decisions about when to look for organic in the produce aisle. (We also love growing as many of our own pesticide-free vegetables as possible, but we think our fellow community gardeners might object if we planted an apple tree in our tiny garden plot!)

Can’t memorize the list? Download the free Dirty Dozen iPhone App, print out the EWG PDF version or donate $10 to the organization to receive a free shopper’s guide bag tag that can be easily clipped onto a reusable shopping bag.

We’re going to keep this information handy while shopping, especially after reading that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that most Americans have concentrations of pesticide residues in their bodies. Do you keep pesticide exposure in mind while shopping?

Tags: Agriculture, Andrew Weil, Apple, cancers, Environment, Environmental Working Group, Food and drink, iPhone, linked children’s attention-deficit disorder, nervous and endocrine systems, organic food, PDF, Pesticide, Produce, Soil contamination, Spinach, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States, USD, USDA, Vegetable