How is it even possible to get away with this??? If you're not familiar with the DIRTY DOZEN, it's an annual list by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that ranks fruits and vegetables contaminated with the most pesticide residues.
For example, kale, is a very popular vegetable rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Many people use kale to make green smoothie drinks. It ranks #3 in the 2019's DIRTY DOZEN list...
According to EWG, it is important to note that the samples are tested for pesticides after they've been prepared to be eaten. This means the produce has been thoroughly washed and, when applicable, peeled. After these preparations, pesticide residues are still detected on many of these fruits and veggies.
What's shocking is that almost 60% of kale samples sold in the United States were contaminated with DACTHAL–which is a pesticide the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers to be a possible human carcinogen (causes cancer).
The European Union BANNED all uses of DACTHAL, but this dam pesticide is still in use on several crops in the United States.
According to EWG, DACTHAL exposure has been linked to increases in liver and thyroid tumors. It can also cause other kinds of harm to the lungs, liver, kidney and thyroid.
It's recommended you minimize your exposure to pesticides like Dacthal by choosing kale that's organically grown.
I've listed the DIRTY DOZEN and the CLEAN FIFTEEN list for 2019 below: (Clean 15 is a list of the top 15 tested produce contaminated with the LEAST amounts of pesticide, are based off more than 40,900 fruit and vegetable samples tested by the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture.)
*A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the U.S. is produced from genetically modified seeds. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid genetically modified produce.