Organic Produce Tested Shows Signs Of Pesticides

Organic produce is better for the environment and does indeed have fewer pesticide residues than conventionally raised items, according to Consumer Reports. But tasters didn’t detect any superiority in flavor.

The magazine tested 1,000 pounds of produce for a recent story on the boom in organic agriculture. A quarter of the organic samples had traces of pesticides, compared with 77 percent of conventionally raised items and 55 percent of “green-labeled” produce (food grown in an environmentally friendly way, but not organically). Only one of the samples, some non-organic green peppers, had residues exceeding federal limits.

None of the samples was rinsed before testing. Washing with very diluted green Palmolive dish soap, then rinsing, will eliminate 30 percent to 100 percent of residues, according to a study by the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

The magazine didn’t determine where the organic samples’ traces of pesticides came from but said possibilities include overspray from neighboring operations, contamination in warehouses or deliberate application by growers.