The 2026's Dirty Dozen list identifies, globally, the 12 types of fruit and vegetables found to carry the highest levels of pesticide residue among 47 items assessed.
This ranking, published every year, in the Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, highlights those crops most frequently showing pesticide contamination when tested. Here are the 12. Honorable mention goes to green beans and bell peppers that didn't make it to the Dirty Dozen roster.
1. Spinach
Widely regarded as a highly nutritious leafy green, essential to balanced diets, it has also been found to carry some of the highest levels of pesticide contamination compared with other fruits and vegetables.
2. Kale, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens
These greens also have a high degree of pesticide residue. In particular, over 50 per cent of kale samples have been found to contain traces of a chemicals that has raised concerns due to its potential connection with cancer risk.
3. Strawberries
Everyone's fave, strawberries carry notable traces of numerous different agricultural chemicals, with testing revealing exposure to multiple pesticide types on conventionally-grown produce.
4. Grapes
Commonly enjoyed as a quick snack, bunches of grapes are prone to having lingering remnants of pesticides because they are regularly subjected to chemical treatments during farming.
5. Nectarines
Occasionally available in India, when imported during season, like peaches this fruit is particularly susceptible to pests and fungal infections while they grow and ripen. Due to its vulnerability, farmers are required to apply protective chemical treatment to prevent crop damage and ensure a healthy harvest.
6. Peaches
About 99 percent of peaches have high levels of pesticides. Individual samples have shown evidence of as many as 19 separate pesticides, while, across all types of testing, a total of 59 distinct chemicals have been detected on peaches.
7. Cherries
Identified as carrying significant levels of pesticide residues, cherries are heavily-treated produce items.
8. Apples
A majority -- over 60 per cent -- of conventionally-grown apples show evidence of a chemical applied after picking. This substance, diphenylamine, banned in Europe, is used during storage in cold conditions to stop the fruit's skin from discolouring or developing dark blemishes. Green apples also require pesticides for their cultivation.
9. Blackberries
These berries, available frozen in India, are a relatively recent addition to the Dirty Dozen ranking, following their first assessment by the USDA in 2023. During testing, the most frequently detected residue was cypermethrin, found on slightly less than half of conventionally grown samples. This manmade pyrethroid insecticide has been classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a potential carcinogenic risk to humans.
10. Pears
In the latest USDA analysis, over 60 per cent of conventionally-grown pears were found to contain residues from at least five different pesticide compounds. In samples tested, around 95 per cent showed evidence of at least one form of agricultural chemical.
11. Potatoes
The popular vegetable continues to appear on the ranking, moving up to 11th position. Testing has shown that almost every sample carries traces of agricultural chemicals, with pesticide residues.
12. Blueberries
Chemical residues were detected on around nine in ten conventionally grown blueberry samples, an increase from roughly 81 per cent recorded in 2014. In addition, four-fifths of the fruit tested contained at least two different pesticide traces, compared with about 70 per cent in the earlier survey period.
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