More than 50 kinds of pesticides were found on some domestic and imported peaches tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year, the Chicago Tribune said yesterday.

Five of the pesticides were in excess of EPA limits, and six of them haven’t even been approved by the EPA for use on peaches in the U.S.

Like a lot of other people, I buy fruits and vegetables that are cheap and in season. So I’ve picked up peaches on several occasions this summer and had a bunch in the fridge when I saw this report.

But it didn’t surprise me.

See, when I bring food home from the supermarket, or even an outdoor “farmer’s market,” I assume that it’s contaminated. Right out of the gate.

So I wash the bejesus out of fruits and vegetables and cook meat like chicken and beef to a fare-thee-well. Fish, of course, is loaded up with all kinds of chemicals that you can’t cook out even if you dumped it into a fryer while you took a shower and polished your shoes.

The Tribune ran some tests of their own and concluded that California organic peaches were much cleaner than the stuff examined by the USDA. But my question is: How do you know if a food is actually organically grown? Because there’s a big sign over it saying so?

Peaches have always had a pesticide problem, apparently. They’ve topped a listing of “Dirty Dozen” issued by the Environmental Working Group for years. They not only require more chemicals to keep them from rotting, they also retain them because of their fuzzy texture.

The healthiest piece of produce on the EWG list is onions. If you really want a healthful snack, go ahead and curl up in front of the tube with a nice plump Vadalia. But personally I prefer a good peach.

So really, what else can you do but enjoy every bite of that sweet, juicy chemical goodness?





