The Ten Essential Organic Produce Items

Organic produce is attractive, but expensive. If you’re worried about your exposure to pesticides, but you’re on a budget, here are Consumer Reports picks for the ten essential produce items you should try to buy organic versions of:

Peaches
Green beans
Tangerines
Sweet bell peppers
Nectarines
Hot peppers
Strawberries
Sweet potatoes
Cranberries
Carrots

The consumer magazine recently published a report on the risks of pesticide residues for 48 fruits and vegetables from around the globe, and came up with guidelines to help consumers reduce their exposure to toxic chemicals.

This 40-page report, “Pesticide Use in Produce,” is available at ConsumerReports.org.

While the above list contains fruits and vegetables that have the highest risk of containing dangerous levels of chemicals, there are some relatively safe choices, too.

Consumer Reports said its analysis found 23 very low- and low-risk conventional produce items that are okay to buy including: bananas, cherries, oranges, broccoli, lettuce, onions and others.