The 10 most wanted

With some fruits and veggies, buying "organic" should be a must

In a perfect world, we'd all eat organic fruits and vegetables all the time. In reality, however, buying organic can sometimes present a challenge. Certain produce may not be available, it might not be ripe, or it could just be too expensive. But the grim truth is, that when consumed over time, the 1 billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides used on conventionally grown crops can have serious consequences in humans.

Years of studies show that chemicals linger on food even after a thorough cleaning and can affect our immune and endocrine systems and may even cause cancer and birth defects. In what appeared to be a step in the right direction, Congress passed the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, which requires the EPA to ban or severely restrict many high-risk pesticides. But the law has encountered such fierce resistance by agricultural groups that getting these toxins out of our food supply is proving to be an extremely slow process. Furthermore, many experts believe the problem isn't how much of any one chemical we ingest from a particular vegetable. "You must look at multiple exposure to pesticides," explains Jay Feldman, executive director of the Washington D.C.--based National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP). Feldman further points out that the weaker standards of other countries often permit unacceptable levels of certain pesticides or the use of chemicals that have been banned in this country.

Given such health risks, it makes sense to buy organic. But on those occasions when that's not feasible, buy produce with a thick, peelable skin. (You can't avoid pesticides that are absorbed through a plant's roots, but the sprayed-on ones are less likely to be absorbed by thick-skinned produce.)

The following is an alphabetical list of the top 10 fruits and vegetables that research shows are most imperative to buy organic because they contain the highest legal levels of the most toxic pesticides. It comes from researchers at Consumer Reports, who analyzed USDA data on toxicity levels in thousands of produce items. For more information go to www.consumersunion.org.

APPLES May contain traces of methyl parathion, an endocrine disruptor and organophosphate insecticide (OP). OPs are a class of potent neurotoxins, which means they can damage the nervous system and the brain. Apples may contain the OPs chlorpyrifos and azinphos-methyl.

BELL PEPPERS Can contain the OPs methamidophos and acephate. Also detected: endocrine disruptors oxamyl and dicofol.

CUCUMBERS May contain dieldrin (a carcinogenic insecticide) and methamidophos. Also detected: chlordane, a neurotoxin and suspected carcinogen that may cause gastrointestinal and fertility problems.

GREEN BEANS Can contain the OPs acephate, methamidophos and dimethoate, and endosulphan, an endocrine disrupting insecticide.

PEACHES Contain high residues of iprodione (a probable human carcinogen) and the OPs azinphosmethyl and methyl parathion.

PEARS May contain the OPs methyl parathion and azinphosmethyl.

SPINACH Contains permethrin, a possible human carcinogen, and the OP dimethoate. Also found: DDT, a carcinogen that was banned decades ago but still lingers in the soil and can increase the risk of birth defects.

STRAWBERRIES The enhanced color of this fruit comes from the fungicide captan, a probable carcinogen. They may also contain methyl bromide, a soil fumigant associated with neurotoxicity and birth defects.

TOMATOES Two common OPs, methamdiphos and clorpyrifos, have been found on this fruit.

WINTER SQUASH Contains dieldrin and the carcinogen heptachlor.

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