The Mean Fourteen

Hmmm. According to Tim Ferris, in his incredible tome The Four-Hour Chef, eating any five of this list will give you a ‘liver-spanking 14 pesticides’.  His book had the 2012 list of 9. I checked out the 2013 list and here are the new top mean 14:
1. Apples. (92% contain two or more pesticides – and this in NYS’s big “apple year,’ right?)
2. Celery
3. Cherry Tomatoes
4. Cucumbers
5. Grapes
6. Hot Peppers
7. Nectarines
8. Peaches (“As a category, peaches have been treated with more pesticides than any other produce, registering combinations of up to 57 different chemicals)
9. Potatoes
10. Spinach
11. Strawberries
12. Peppers
13. Kale/Collard Greens
14. Summer Squash.

List courtesy of the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

You can always check the PLU if you are not sure. Read more about that here.