there’s a blackberry or strawberry in sight, my infant grandson will gobble it up and beg for more. Berries are packed with antioxidants, fiber and vitamin C, so his healthy eating habits should put me, the proud grandmother, in a happy place, right?
Because blackberries and strawberries, along with the ever-popular blueberries, are listed in the “Dirty Dozen” as some of the most pesticide-laden produce grown in the United States, according to the annual 2026 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. The Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a nonprofit health advocacy organization, has produced it since 2004.
The 2026 Dirty Dozen list also includes cherries, apples, pears, grapes, peaches, nectarines, and leafy greens such as kale and spinach. Over the decades, the order may jump around, but those kid-favorite berries tend to remain in the Dirty Dozen, year after year.
There is one bright spot: raspberries. Partly due to the way they are grown, raspberries aren’t in the 2026 list. In fact, they rank much closer to EWG’s “Clean Fifteen” group of ruits and vegetables with fewest pesticides. (Raspberries came in at 22 in those rankings.)
The EWG ratings calculates its ratings from testing done by the US Department of Agriculture. Most of the pesticide levels found by the USDA fall below benchmark levels set by the US Environmental Agency. However, critics, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, say those levels are much too high and fail to address the health impact of long-term, cumulative exposure to multiple pesticides.