One in five tested foods sold in the United States has a high risk of pesticide contamination, and some foods, like green peas, contain dangerous pesticides banned by authorities, according to Consumer Reports (CR).
CR analyzed seven years’ worth of Department of Agriculture data, studying 59 common fruits and vegetables to assess pesticide contamination.
“One food, green beans, had residues of a pesticide that hasn’t been allowed to be used on the vegetable in the U.S. for over a decade.”
Notably, green beans were classified as a “high-risk” product because they contained the pesticide acephate or one of its breakdown products, methamidophos.
While only 4 percent of conventional, domestic green bean samples were positive for one or both of these pesticides, the level of the chemicals was “often alarmingly high,” CR noted.
A 2022 green peas sample contained methamidophos levels that were more than 100 times the level CR’s scientists considered safe. In another sample, acephate levels were seven times higher. In some of the samples from 2021, “levels were higher still.”
Such a high level of pesticide presence is “especially troubling” since neither of them should be on green beans at all. In 2009, the United States banned the use of methamidophos for growing any produce. Two years later, the use of acephate on green beans was banned.
“When you grab a handful of green beans at the supermarket or pick out a watermelon, your chance of getting one with risky pesticide levels may be relatively low,” said James E. Rogers, who oversees food safety at CR.
“But if you do, you could get a much higher dose than you should, and if you eat the food often, the chances increase.”
U.S.-grown conventional green beans were classified under “high risk” of pesticide contamination, while imported ones were tagged “very high risk.” Among organic green beans, U.S.-grown ones were rated “very low risk,” while imported ones were classified as “very high risk.”
A sizable portion of imported green bean samples were from Mexico. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesperson told Consumer Reports that the agency was aware of acephate contamination in green beans imported from Mexico.
Between 2017 and 2024, the FDA issued import alerts on 14 Mexican firms due to acephate presence in green beans. Such alerts empower the agency to detain food shipments until it can be proven that the food is not contaminated with illegal pesticides.
However, “clearly, the safeguards aren’t working as they are supposed to,” Mr. Rogers said. Consequently, “consumers are being exposed to much higher levels of very dangerous pesticides than they should,” he added.
Pesticide Risk to Humans
The dependency on pesticides in American agriculture means that the presence of chemicals is now basically inevitable in foods.“To determine risk, one must consider both the toxicity or hazard of the pesticide and the likelihood of exposure,” it adds.
In the Dirty Dozen list, 95 percent of samples contained pesticides. The items included strawberries, spinach, leafy greens such as kale, collard, and mustard greens, grapes, peaches, pears, nectarines, apples, bell and hot peppers, cherries, blueberries, and green beans. Among the Dirty Dozen, 209 pesticides were found.
“More than 50 pesticides were detected on samples from each item on the Dirty Dozen, except cherries. ... All of the produce on the Dirty Dozen had at least one sample with at least 13 pesticides—and some had as many as 23,” EWG said.
“Since pesticides are intrinsically toxic and deliberately spread in the environment, their production, distribution, and use call for strict regulation and control. Regular monitoring of residues in food and the environment is also required,” it said.
