A new category in the Dirty Dozen list

The annual Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables list provides some new information this year. The rating of pesticide residues on produce is now identifying “forever chemicals,” the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS.

The annual list, compiled by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG), analyzes which conventional fruits and vegetables showed the highest level of pesticide residues in tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is paired each year with a “Clean Fifteen” list showing the lowest levels of pesticide residues in those tests.

The quick and dirty version (so to speak) is that spinach is still the top “dirty dozen” vegetable for 2026, and green beans and peppers were highlighted even though they’re not technically on the list (see details below). It’s also valuable to know that PFAS were the pesticides most frequently detected on all fruits and vegetables tested for the annual study.

“Fludioxonil, a fungicide that is also identified as a PFAS, was the most frequently detected pesticide overall, found in 14% of all produce samples,” according to a report summary from Environmental Working Group (EWG). Fludioxonil was found in nearly 90% of peaches and plums tested, according to EWG. Overall, three of the top 10 pesticides detected were PFAS.

The PFAS assessment continues a 2025 methodology update that responded to ongoing criticisms of the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists. Researchers are now trying to provide context on which pesticide residues on produce are the most concerning, rather than just noting how many different pesticides were detected.

While much is still unknown about PFAS chemicals, they are generally understood to cause multiple harmful health effects, as detailed previously in the Sound Consumer, including developmental delays in children and reduced immune responses. While they’ve generally been seen as an issue in packaging and other consumer goods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has more recently been testing for PFAS in foods. (PCC quality standards prohibit the intentional use of PFAS in multiple categories, including personal care, cleaning suppliers, and our deli packaging.)

What are this year’s Dirty Dozen and Clean 15?

Spinach was #1 on this year’s Dirty Dozen list, as it was in 2025. Strawberries dropped from #2 to #3, switching places with the collective category of kale, collards and mustard greens.  The other nine items on the “Dirty” list were also the same as they were in 2025, with a few changes in position. Cherries, for instance, dropped from sixth place to seventh.

Added to the bottom of the list, though – making it technically more than a dozen – were two additional unnumbered entries. Green beans and peppers (both bell and hot varieties) were flagged as “dirty” given high scores in two categories — the level and toxicity of detected pesticides on the samples — even though the overall ranking didn’t put them in the top 12.

The “Clean 15” list of produce, signifying fruits and vegetables with the lowest levels of concerning residues, was virtually unchanged from 2025. The same 15 items were on the list, with only minor ranking swaps. Pineapple ranked #1, followed by sweet corn, avocadoes, and papaya. (See full list below.)

The rankings are based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which samples selected fruits and vegetables each year for pesticide residues, typically releasing results two years after collecting the samples, according to EWG. The 2026 guide uses data from more than 54,000 samples of 47 fruits and vegetables.

Figuratively speaking, the reports don’t compare apples to apples. The USDA doesn’t test the same fruits and vegetables annually and doesn’t sample the same quantities of each substance. The 1,095 spinach samples were collected between 2015 and 2016, for instance, but the 492 cherry tomato samples were collected in 2024 and 2025.

How “Dirty Dozen” vegetables were cleaned

The produce samples analyzed by the USDA were prepared the way people are intended to prepare them at home. Samples are washed under running water for 15 to 20 seconds, according to EWG.

Items with inedible peels, e.g. bananas, are peeled, while inedible ends are trimmed from other fruits and vegetables.

How to use the “Dirty Dozen” list

The list’s producers stress that it’s important to eat fruits and vegetables, and say they don’t want the list to deter people from a healthy diet. They suggest using it as a guide instead – for instance, preferentially eating “Clean 15” fruits and vegetables, or choosing organic versions of foods on the “Dirty Dozen” list if they are available and affordable. Synthetic pesticides are not allowed in certified organic farming.

Critics of the Dirty Dozen list often note that the pesticide residues detected by USDA testing are almost always below the amounts allowed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The authors counter that the issue is far more complex than that one figure. Levels of some pesticides that were once considered safe have been found unsafe after more and longer-term data became available. Children can be more vulnerable to the effects of pesticides than adults. Crucially, government regulators consider each pesticide individually, with little information available on their combined effects. And concerns may change over time.

More than 90% of potatoes in the USDA samples, for instance, contained chlorpropham, a sprout inhibitor that is allowed in the U.S. but has been banned in the European Union since 2019. The levels of chlorpropham in the potato samples were twice as high as they were the last time potatoes were tested, according to EWG.

Given the potential health harms, EWG says, consumers have a right to know the information, and should have the option to use it to guide their choices.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated since it was originally published to add background information on the Dirty Dozen list.