Dirty Dozen Produce Items

Before you decide to buy produce this week, you may want to check out what’s listed on the Dirty Dozen.

The Marquette Food Co-Op recently started giving shoppers a guide to the 12 dirtiest varieties of produce — items known for being high in pesticides, or for being hard to wash like strawberries.

Along with the Dirty Dozen list, the guide also gives shoppers a list of produce items lowest in pesticides.

The Clean Fifteen can also make the list by being easy to clean, deterring insects, or having a thick skin to prevent contact between chemicals and the edible portion of the produce.

Kelly Cantway from the Food Co-Op also suggests local produce is cleaner produce as well, because the closer produce comes from, the shorter the supply chain is, which means the fewer preservatives are needed to make sure the food can be transported.

The Marquette Food Co-Op found out about the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen from the Environmental Working Group.

To find out more about produce and pesticides, you can check out that group’s website, foodnews.org .