Organic Foods

It can be difficult to choose when to buy organic foods and pay the additional money for them, often a 20-50% premium over conventional grocery items, to limit your exposure to pesticides and other additives. Consumer Reports in February 2006 advises:

Buy these items organic as often as possible:

Why? USDA testing has shown that even after washing, this “dirty dozen” consistently has much higher levels of pesticide residue than other fruits and vegetables.

Why? Children’s developing bodies are especially vulnerable to toxins. Baby food is often composed of condensed fruits/vegetables thus potentially concentrating pesticide residues.

Buy these items organic if price is no object:

Why? Pesticide residues are rarely found on these food items.

Don't bother buying seafood organic:

Why? The USDA has not developed standards for seafoods. As long as a producer does not use the labels “USDA” or “certified organic,” seafood can be labeled organic even though high levels of mercury or PCBs could be present. Avoid Atlantic mackerel, swordfish, tilefish and shark. Most concerned professionals also advise limiting tuna to once a week, particularly in children and childbearing-age women because of the mercury levels in this long lived fish. Canned light tuna has less mercury contamination than the canned albacore tuna because it is made from the smaller fish.

Print this table as your quick reference guide to mercury levels in fish