The Food To Eat Organic In The UK Where Possible

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Want to know the best food to eat organic, and the food you don’t need to eat if money is tight? Read on!

Organic food has been cited as being better for the environment and could be better for our health (although the jury is still out). Yet, it can be more expensive to shop for organic food. With the cost of living crisis in full swing, money is tight right now. Many of us – myself included – have seen our budgets squeezed, and priorities shift.

As such, I’ve been doing a little research into what organic food to eat and which organic food you don’t necessarily need to buy if money is tight. If your budget is feeling the pinch, but you still want to shop organic where you can, this knowledge can help you prioritise what to buy at the supermarket or greengrocers.

PAN UK To The Rescue

That research led me to the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) – an organisation focused on tackling the problems caused by pesticides. Each year PAN UK publishes the Dirty Dozen – outlining the worst food in the UK for pesticide residues.

The data is sourced from the UK Government. PAN UK explains that each year the UK government tests roughly 3,000 kg of food for pesticide residues. Once the results are published, PAN UK analyses this data and makes it accessible to the general public.

PAN UK focuses on produce with multiple pesticide residues. This is because the government sets safety limits for just one pesticide at a time. PAN UK feels that this ignores the growing body of evidence that chemicals can become more
harmful when combined
.

The Government testing is limited and inconsistent. It doesn’t test the same produce year on year. This makes it hard to identify trends. To combat this, PAN UK keeps a record of each year’s data and publishes average figures covering multiple years to get the most comprehensive figures.

The Dirty Dozen

Platter of fresh fruit with a blue text box that reads the 12 foods you should eat organic, where possible.

As such, I’ve listed the foods that PAN UK found to have the highest levels of pesticide residues in the latest reporting period – The Dirty Dozen. This makes them the foods you might want to consider eating organic if you can.

When I updated this post in January 2024, the most up-to-date data available was from 2018 – 2022. I’ll update this post as soon as newer data becomes available.

Before we get into the list, something that’s incredibly important to remember is that eating fresh fruit and vegetables is better for your health than not eating them at all. If you can’t afford to swap to organic versions, then don’t let this data stop you from buying standard fruits and vegetables. PAN UK collates and shares this data to help overhaul our agricultural systems as a whole – not to put the sole weight of the problem on individual shoppers.

One thing you can do instead is to wash fruit and vegetables to remove pesticides. I’ve found the most effective method – backed up by science – which helps remove most surface-based pesticides. Click through to my post for the full details.

It’s also important to note that pesticide levels in all foods are tightly controlled. You don’t have to eat organic to eat well. This list is more for those who would prefer to avoid or limit their exposure to pesticides

1. Grapefruit

According to UK government testing, grapefruit takes the top stop on the list as the most pesticide-contaminated food. In fact, PAN UK reports that 100% of all grapefruits tested had multiple pesticide residues on them.

I had always thought that as you have to peel citrus fruit before you eat it, then you don’t need to buy organic citrus fruit. Unless you’re making organic marmalade or using the zest in cooking or baking.

However, this is wrong. PAN UK say that modern pesticides are what are known as ‘systemic’. This means that the pesticides are absorbed into the plant. From there, these pesticides are then distributed throughout the plant’s tissues, reaching the fruits and/or flowers. As a result, pesticide residues are often contained within the body of the fruit itself. This means that washing the surface or peeling the fruit won’t remove these chemicals.

If you’re a grapefruit fan – I am, not least because I make homemade scouring powder with the peel – then if you are looking to limit your exposure to pesticides, then buying organic grapefruits may be a good place to start.

2. Soft Citrus Fruits

Another high scorer, 96% of soft citrus fruits (which encompasses satsumas, clementines and mandarins) have been found to have multiple pesticide residues.

3. Oranges

With grapefruit and easy-peelers both having high pesticide residue scores, it comes as no surprise that oranges are the third-highest scorer. With 87% of samples having multiple pesticide residues, it’s certainly something to consider buying organic where possible if eating organic is important to you.

4. Strawberries

Of all the strawberries sampled by the Government, 86% had pesticide residues on them. Fresh organic strawberries can be an expensive purchase. However, you can find frozen organic strawberries in some shops. This can be a more affordable option, plus they can last a whole lot longer than fresh strawberries, helping you to beat food waste.

5. Grapes

Grapes may taste sweet. However, with 84% of all grape samples tested having multiple pesticide residues – and landing in the top five most contaminated food – it’s definitely one fruit to consider buying organic if possible.

6. Raisins, Sultanas & Currants

The pesticide content of dried fruit doesn’t always fall under people’s radar. However, as these types of dried fruit are derived from grapes it’s little surprise that 82% of all samples tested had signs of multiple pesticides. As these types of dried fruit tend to be eaten or used in small quantities, and store for a long time, then these might be a more practical and affordable way to choose organic.

7. Cherries

Cherries also feature in this Dirty Dozen, with 81% of samples tested having traces of multiple pesticides. Like strawberries, you can lower the cost by opting for frozen organic cherries, if you choose to swap to organic.

8. Herbs

Fresh herbs also make the Dirty Dozen, with 81% of herbs sampled testing positive for multiple pesticides. Whilst you can buy organic fresh herbs, I’ve found it is much more affordable to grow our own organic herbs in our garden.

Even if you don’t have a garden, many herbs can easily be grown on your windowsill, so that you have a constant supply of your own pesticide-free herbs.

9. Pre-Packaged Salad

Pre-packaged salad may be convenient, but 81% of samples tested by the Government were found to have traces of pesticides.

10. Peaches & Nectarines

With 76% of peaches and nectarines tested found to have pesticide residues, suddenly these soft fruits don’t seem so peachy.

11. Lemons

Coming in slightly lower than other citrus fruits on this list, 75% of all lemons sampled had multiple pesticide residues.

12. Spices

Finally, fresh spices also made it into the Dirty Dozen, with 74% of all spices testing positive for pesticides. Whilst dry spices weren’t tested, I assume this figure would hold for them too.

If you’re a US reader then do check out the Environmental Working Group Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides for information for your area.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for which food to eat organic in the UK, the Dirty Dozen is an ideal starting point. From grapefruit to grapes, many common food items contain a cocktail of pesticides. However, even if you can’t make the switch, there’s no reason not to enjoy a balanced diet. Washing your food before use can remove most surface pesticides. Growing your own, where possible, also helps to reduce your exposure to pesticides.

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9 Comments

  1. Ah, organic food is not better for you – the jury is still out on that! Also, it does not taste better as a study in Sweden has shown (google it – I don’t want to plaster links in here to not risk the spam filter).

  2. This is interesting and the fact that organic food is more expensive irks be greatly. I do always buy organic bananas simply because they taste so much better. As for other produce I grow much of my own (organically of course) but I buy sweet potatoes and nectarines that are not organic and I have never seen the former on sale organically.

  3. This is interesting and the fact that organic food is more expensive irks me greatly. I do actually always buy organic bananas simply because they taste so much better. As for other produce I grow much of my own (organically of course) but I do buy sweet potatoes and nectarines that are not organic and I have never seen the former on sale organically.

  4. Thank you for this, I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently, it doesnt get mentioned as much as it used to. Lots of food writers talk about clean eating etc but never mention pesticides on all that fruit and veg.

    I try to buy everything organic because I’ve got M.E. and it has been linked with pesticide use. I cant afford it really but I cut back on other things. I have an allotment and my neighbour just sprayed her whole plot with Glyphosate :( I know the jury is still out about glyphosate use, but when you’re ill for a long time you question everything you come into contact with.

    This Soil Association has a good article here about Bread:

    Also I worry about pesticides being sprayed in the countryside and damaging wildlife / getting into the water supply etc, like DDT in the 50s.

    The EU may (or may not) ban glyphosate in a year or so, but by then we may not be in the EU, I cant imagine a Conservative government prioritising it.

  5. I’m real sorry but buying organic is not just about the pesticides you get into your body when you eat the fruit and veg that have lots of pesticide residue.
    Buying organic is also about the environment and organic farming is better at all times so it makes sense to buy everything organic but, of course, additionally also regional and seasonal.
    It can be a tough choice and maybe a small choice of fruit and veg but it’s worth it.
    And bananas and other exotic fruit should also be fair traded in addition to organic.
    I think it’s really worth it for all our sakes.
    Kind regards, Sandra from Austria

    1. Of course Sandra, I completely and utterly agree with you. It’s just sometimes when you’re trying to feed a family on a small budget that you can’t always afford to buy everything organic and sacrifices have to be made somewhere. In an ideal world this wouldn’t be the case.

  6. Why isnt bananas, melons and potatoes on the list of what you need to buy Organic? Multiple authoreties state that these are some of the worst

    Kind regards “Organic mom”, swedish Organic lifestyle blogger

    1. I’m not sure of PAN UK’s methodology, but I did read on the US Environmental Working Group site that I linked to in the post that interestingly potatoes are part of their “dirty dozen”, whilst melon was part of their “Clean 15”. Bananas are ranked closer to their Clean 15 than the Dirty Dozen. Perhaps different countries, different methodologies? Perhaps UK potatoes need less pesticides to grow here? We can grow potatoes on our allotment without even trying to! ;)