by Wyatt Myers
May 05, 2010

If your baby is making the transition to fresh fruits and vegetables, then you’re probably concerned about pesticides. To help you make the right choices, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has just released its lists of “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15,” which are the fruits and vegetables with the highest and lowest levels of pesticide residue respectively.

The lists are a sneak preview of the non-profit group’s 2010 “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.” To create the guide, EWG researchers analyze the results of nearly 96,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce. Then they use the results to rank the pesticide levels in most fruits and vegetables.

Some of the notable offenders on the list of “Dirty Dozen” are peaches, strawberries, apples, and blueberries. The EWG recommends buying these foods organic. Foods with lower pesticide levels on the list of “Clean 15” include avocados, pineapples, and mangos.

Though the health risks of pesticides are largely unproven, some experts believe they pose the greatest risks to infants and children. “Children may be at greater risk partly because they have immature tissues and weaker immunity,” says Neal D. Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C. “Also, if they consume these foods starting in infancy, they may accumulate a lifetime of exposure.”

Click here to see the full list of best and worst fruits and vegetables and to print a pocket-sized shopper’s guide.