Posted by Savneet Singh on Nov.02, 2010

ⓒ Janet Harriett

People are looking for organic as it is difficult to find any fruits and vegetables grown without a whole load of chemicals. But its not that you always have to look around and find all the organic food, which may be costlier than the non-organic one. Washing food items can only remove dirt, bacteria, insects and the pesticide residue, but not the whole of it because these chemicals are absorbed by the fruits and vegetables. Some other chemicals form bonds with either with its skin or core, thus washing does not help much in such a case. Peeling off may help a little bit but doesn’t eliminate the chemicals totally. By just switching to a few organic fruits and vegetables, you can reduce the amount of pesticides going into your body. The fruits and vegetables listed below are grown with so many chemicals that you pose a real thereat to your body by consuming them on a regular basis.

Strawberries

It is said that the strawberries grown with chemicals are so full of them that the fruit itself can be ground up and used as a pesticide!! An estimated 65 percent of various agro-chemicals including pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, weedicides, herbicides etc are used over strawberry crop. For example, for getting rid of fungus, methyl bromide, a chemical responsible for depleting the ozone, is used. This chemical can cause poisoning and neurological disorders. It has been kept in toxicity Category I compound by EPA classification. The strawberries plants are drip-fed on chemical fertilizers and the chemicals to kill all microorganisms and other living things in the soil.

Bell pepper-Green

Bell peppers are sprayed with various chemical six to eight times during the growth cycle. The field is fumigated with methyl bromide before the bell pepper is planted so as to kill all the living things those may harm the crop.

Peaches

The peaches attract many insects and birds so they receive assorted pesticides and other agrochemical spray on weekly basis.

Apples

Apples are generally attracted by many kinds of moths larvae, mites, microorganisms, aphids and other living things. They are sprayed with chemicals 8-10 times during the whole life cycle. More than 40 agrochemicals are approved for the apple crop. A lot of horticultural petroleum oil is used to keep apple alive and shiny.

Spinach

Spinach can grow easily in sandy soil, cool season and adequate water supply but when these conditions are absent, they may be attacked by aphids, insects etc. In order to grow commercial spinach a great amount of chemicals like pesticides, fungicides and insecticide are sprayed over the spinach produce. FDA has found chemicals like DDT, permethrin and other toxic sprays on the leaves.

Potatoes

Potatoes especially, Russet, are tested to contain many harmful carcinogenic chemicals. The fields of potatoes are sprayed with fumigants to kill all the microorganisms and nematodes present in the soil before plantation. The field is sprayed with chemicals once more after the potato eye has been planted so that the sprouts those come are not eaten by insects. Herbicides and weedicides are used to reduce the chances of any weed growth. The fertilizers are used every week to retain the nutrients in the soil. To control the potato blight, the potato plants receive the fungicide spray before harvest.

Celery

Celery plants absorbs a lot of chemicals because it has a water uptake mechanism. It absorbs a lot of agrochemicals from groundwater and soil. Eighty two percent of celery samples tested by FDA gave a positive result of chemicals.

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Posted under Food Facts, Health Alerts, Health Facts.