In France, more than 66,000 tons of pesticides are used each year in the horticultural and agricultural crops, while in the United States, 65% of food samples analyzed by the Department of Agriculture tested positive in pesticide residue test.
If you do not buy 100% organic food, be sure that you consume a large amount of chemicals.
Each year, The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a US environmental organization, updates the list of fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of chemicals in them and provides this information to consumers. In 2015, the list of the most chemically treated foods (known as the Dirty Dozen) including: apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, nectarines, peaches, apples earth, the snow peas, spinach, strawberries and sweet peppers. To note that hot peppers, kale and collard greens are also part of the list of foods containing large amounts of pesticides.
So be careful when eating certain foods because they contain a good dose of pesticide residues.
According to the writings of the dietician Povis Gayle Alleman, on how to remove pesticides from fruits and vegetables, he says that we have to soak them in a mixture of 10% white vinegar and 90% water, and leave them for 15 to 20 minutes. When removing food, one can notice that the water in the bowl is dirty, and can even contain pesticide residues.
