FRESH N' CLEAN™ The Answer?
Washing your fruits and veggies with Fresh N’ Clean™ will remove these contaminants making them healthier to eat. Five portions of fruits and veggies each day are recommended for a healthy diet. Fruits and veggies washed with Fresh N’ Clean™ will taste better, last longer and be better for you.
Why
Should You Care About Pesticides?
There is growing consensus in the scientific community
that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect
people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and
childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic
effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases
completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to pesticides
whenever possible.
What’s
the Difference?
An EWG simulation of thousands of consumers eating
high and low pesticide diets shows that people can lower their pesticide
exposure by almost 90 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated
fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating
the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to
about 15 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 12 least contaminated
will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day. Less dramatic
comparisons will produce less dramatic reductions, but without doubt using
the Guide provides people with a way to make choices that lower pesticide
exposure in the diet.
Will
Washing and Peeling Help?
Nearly all of the data used to create these lists
already considers how people typically wash and prepare produce (for example,
apples are washed before testing, bananas are peeled). While washing and
rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not
eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients
often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied
diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure
to potentially harmful chemicals.
How
Was This Guide Developed?
The produce ranking was developed by analysts at
the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results
of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between
2000 and 2004. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing
the rankings as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that
have been tested is available at www.foodnews.org.
GET YOUR OWN GUIDE
Download a copy or get more information:http://www.foodnews.org