Pesticide Residues on Produce: What the USDA Data Actually Shows
Pesticide residue shows up on most produce tested in the US — that's expected, not a red flag on its own. Here's what USDA's own testing program actually finds, and where it matters if you're deciding whether organic is worth the extra cost.
Regulatory status
Legal residue limits, set food by food
EPA sets a tolerance for each pesticide on each food under a reasonable-certainty-of-no-harm standard; USDA found over 99 percent of 2024 samples below it.
At a glance
- SafeMama view
- USDA's Pesticide Data Program (PDP) tested 9,872 food samples in 2024 and found more than 99 percent had pesticide residues below the safety levels EPA sets — with 42 percent showing no detectable residue at all. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes organic produce may carry lower residue levels but is explicit that families should not skip produce over pesticide concerns. SafeMama tracks this as an evidence-flagged, budget-allocation question, not a harm claim.
- Easy swap
- This isn't an avoidance list
The short answer
Test almost any conventionally grown fruit or vegetable sold in the US closely enough and you'll likely find a trace of pesticide. That's expected — pesticides are used broadly in modern farming — and it's a different fact than "unsafe." USDA runs a dedicated testing program to answer exactly that question, and its most recent results are reassuring: in 2024, more than 99 percent of the samples tested came in below the safety threshold EPA sets, and 42 percent had no detectable pesticide residue at all.
The real question was never "residue or no residue." It's whether the amount found is something to act on. On that question, the government's own monitoring data says no, for the overwhelming majority of what gets tested.
Where the concern came from
"Pesticide residue" is an alarming phrase out of context, separated from the dose and the safety margin behind it. Wanting more information before assuming any detectable residue equals danger is a reasonable instinct, not paranoia. It's also why third-party produce rankings get published each year and circulate widely — the American Academy of Pediatrics itself points families to lists like these as a resource. Worth knowing going in: those are relative rankings of produce that is already within legal residue limits, not a line between safe and unsafe. Something at the bottom of a "worst" list can still be well under the EPA's tolerance. The cheat sheet further down this page is built differently — straight from USDA's own testing, by a rule we publish and show our work on — and it isn't a ranking either.
What the evidence actually shows
- USDA's Pesticide Data Program (PDP) tested 9,872 samples across 19 commodities in 2024 — fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, and fish — with a deliberate emphasis on foods young children eat most.
- More than 99 percent of samples fell below the EPA's tolerance, the legal maximum residue level EPA sets for a pesticide on a given food.
- That tolerance isn't a generic adult-safety number. EPA's own tolerance-setting process requires a "reasonable certainty of no harm" standard that explicitly evaluates "increased susceptibility to infants and children" before a tolerance is finalized.
- Not every category tests the same. In the 2024 data, commodities including apples, potatoes, onions, oranges, head and leaf lettuce, canned pumpkin, frozen sweet corn, and salmon had zero samples that exceeded the EPA limit. A smaller group of softer, more delicate produce — fresh blackberries, tomatillos, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers among them — accounted for most of the small share of samples that did.
- None of this makes organic nutritionally superior. AAP is direct about that: "Organic foods are not shown to be more nutritious than conventionally grown foods but may have lower pesticide residue levels."
What SafeMama actually recommends
This isn't an "avoid these" page, and the evidence doesn't support building one. AAP says it plainly: families "should not avoid consuming produce just because organics are not available or possible for the family to purchase." Eating conventional produce always beats not eating produce — that's not a caveat, it's the headline.
If organic is easy for your household, it does track toward measurably lower residue levels, so there's no reason not to. If it isn't — cost, availability, a kid who will only eat the cheap grapes — conventional produce, washed under running water, is a reasonable, evidence-backed choice, not something to feel you're settling for. And if you'd rather spend selectively than switch your whole cart, the cheat sheet on this page sorts 33 commodities into two columns using USDA's own published results: apples, berries, grapes and leaf lettuce are where a limited organic budget buys the most, while onions, potatoes, citrus and head lettuce test consistently low. Apples sit in the first column despite clearing the legal limit on every sample, because most samples carry four or more different residues at once — the sheet explains how each placement was made.
The exposure quiz scores how often your household's produce choices lean toward the higher-residue categories — a frequency signal for your own reference, not a verdict. A "worth a look" result here means your answers landed on that end of this one question, nothing more.
The produce aisle cheat sheet
Built from USDA’s own residue testing — not from anyone’s branded shopping list. Across the program as a whole, more than 99% of samples come in under the EPA’s legal limit — the rate varies by commodity, and every row below states its own.
All of it is better than none of it.
Kids should eat as much produce as they’ll eat — organic or not. If your budget allows organic, here’s where it goes furthest. If it doesn’t, wash everything and buy freely.
A detection is not a danger. Most residues turn up at a small fraction of the legal limit, and USDA found more than 99% of all samples below it. A commodity can show residue on nearly every sample and still record zero exceedances — which is why these columns are about where to spend, not about what to avoid.
Organic first, if you can
Where a limited organic budget buys the most, by USDA's own numbers.
Listed alphabetically — the order is not a ranking.
Apples
USDA PDP, 2024Residue detected on 94.3% of samples; 58.5% carried four or more distinct pesticides simultaneously. Zero tolerance exceedances — every sample cleared the EPA safety limit.
Blackberries (fresh)
USDA PDP, 2024Residue detected on 82.5% of samples. Exceedance rate 3.2% (22 of 685 samples) — the second-highest exceedance rate in the 2024 cycle. 46.3% carried four or more distinct pesticides.
Blueberries
USDA PDP, 2022Residue detected on 84.0% of samples; 50.4% carried four or more distinct pesticides. 2021 cycle (n=692) agrees: 45.9% multi-residue, 0.58% exceedance. Not retested since 2022.
Celery
USDA PDP, 2023Placed here per the mechanical rule as published: an exceedance was recorded in two of the three cycles on file — 2021 (0.56%, n=354) and 2023 (0.86%, n=349) — which satisfies the "exceedance recorded in 2+ separate cycles" trigger even though no single cycle independently crosses the 1% threshold. The largest-sample cycle, 2022 (n=706), recorded zero exceedances. Multi-residue load ranges 23.7%-38.4% across the three cycles, below the 40% trigger on its own.
A borderline call — PDP cycles disagree on this one. How it was placed.
This is a genuinely close call and reasonable reviewers could place it in either column — the sheet follows its own published rule rather than applying discretion case by case.
Cherry Tomatoes
USDA PDP, 2024Residue detected on 79.0% of samples. Exceedance rate 1.5% (8 of 529 samples); 44.3% carried four or more distinct pesticides.
Cucumbers
USDA PDP, 2024Residue detected on 84.0% of samples; 40.2% carried four or more distinct pesticides. 82 distinct residues detected — tied for the most of any commodity in the 2024 cycle. Exceedance rate 0.7% (5 of 708 samples).
Grapes
USDA PDP, 2023Residue detected on 96.2% of samples. Exceedance rate 1.3% (9 of 709); 79.8% carried four or more distinct pesticides — the highest multi-residue rate of any commodity checked. 2022 cycle (n=706) agrees: 0.85% exceedance, 76.8% multi-residue.
Green Beans
USDA PDP, 2022By far the highest exceedance rate in this entire dataset: 7.2% (38 of 530 samples). 2021 cycle (n=700) agrees and is nearly as high: 4.4%. Green beans accounted for 67.9% of all 2022 tolerance-exceeding samples nationwide. Not retested since 2022 — the single highest-priority resample candidate in this dataset.
Lettuce (Leaf/Romaine)
USDA PDP, 2024Residue detected on 89.0% of samples; 54.7% carried four or more distinct pesticides, despite zero tolerance exceedances. Note: head/ iceberg lettuce, tested in the same cycle, does not meet this bar — see Column B.
Peaches (fresh)
USDA PDP, 2022Residue detected on 97.9% of samples; 65.7% carried four or more distinct pesticides; exceedance rate 1.0% (right at the trigger line). 2021 (n=518) agrees: 64.1% multi-residue, 0.97% exceedance.
Pears
USDA PDP, 2022Residue detected on 91.5% of samples; 65.4% carried four or more distinct pesticides despite zero exceedances. 2021 (n=707) agrees: 69.7% multi-residue.
Sweet Bell Peppers
USDA PDP, 2021Residue detected on 89.6% of samples; 51.2% carried four or more distinct pesticides despite zero exceedances. Single-cycle data only — not tested 2022 through 2024.
Tomatillos
USDA PDP, 2024Highest exceedance rate in the 2024 cycle: 5.5% (37 of 679 samples). Tomatillos alone accounted for 48.7% of all 2024 tolerance-exceeding samples nationwide.
Tomatoes
USDA PDP, 2023Residue detected on 86.4% of samples; 48.4% carried four or more distinct pesticides. 95 distinct residues detected — the most of any commodity in this dataset. 2022 cycle (n=709) agrees: 45.1% multi-residue, 0.14% exceedance.
Conventional is fine
Consistently low residue across the cycles we checked. Buy these however you like.
Listed alphabetically — the order is not a ranking.
Avocados
USDA PDP, 2024Among the cleanest commodities PDP tests — 88% of samples had zero detectable residue at all. 0.14% exceedance rate (1 of 706).
Broccoli
USDA PDP, 2021Only 14.6% of samples had four or more residues; single trace exceedance (0.14%). Single-cycle data — not retested since 2021.
Cantaloupe
USDA PDP, 2021Low multi-residue load (9.4% at four or more), zero exceedances. Single-cycle data.
Carrots
USDA PDP, 202249.7% detection, 14 distinct residues, zero exceedances. 2021 (n=708) agrees: 26 distinct, 0 exceedances both cycles.
Cauliflower
USDA PDP, 2021Very low multi-residue load (1.7% at four or more), zero exceedances. Single-cycle data.
Eggplant
USDA PDP, 2021Trace exceedance rate (0.4%), modest multi-residue load (18.2%). Single-cycle data.
Lettuce (Head/Iceberg)
USDA PDP, 2024Only 4.2% of samples carried four or more distinct pesticides — a real divergence from leaf/romaine lettuce tested the same cycle. Zero exceedances.
Mushrooms
USDA PDP, 2023Only 10 distinct residues detected of 213 tested for — one of the narrowest residue profiles in the dataset. 2022 (n=707) agrees: 15 distinct, 0 exceedances.
Onions
USDA PDP, 202471.8% of samples had zero detectable residue. Zero exceedances.
Oranges
USDA PDP, 2024High detection frequency (94.1%) but almost entirely 2-4 pesticides per sample (only 15.1% at four or more) and just 11 distinct residues ever seen — one of the smallest residue "vocabularies" in the dataset. Zero exceedances.
Pineapple (fresh & frozen)
USDA PDP, 202488.7% of fresh samples (92.3% of frozen) had zero detectable residue. Zero exceedances.
Plums
USDA PDP, 2023High detection but low multi-residue load (13.2% at four or more) and zero exceedances two cycles running (2022, n=593, also 0).
Potatoes
USDA PDP, 2024High raw detection (98.3%) driven almost entirely by a single postharvest sprout-inhibitor compound — 58.2% of samples had exactly one pesticide, only 10.7% had four or more. Zero exceedances across all 3 cycles on file (2024, 2023 n=709, 2022 n=529) — the most consistent clean record of any commodity here, despite the high raw detection percentage. The clearest example in this dataset of why raw detection percentage alone would be a misleading placement signal.
Pumpkin (canned)
USDA PDP, 202477.5% zero-detect; processed/canned, low multi-residue. Zero exceedances.
Summer Squash
USDA PDP, 2022Despite 77 distinct residues detected (a large pesticide panel — 523 tested for), only 19.1% of samples had four or more simultaneously — most samples land at 0-2. 2021 (n=698) agrees: 20.7% multi-residue, 0 exceedances.
Sweet Corn (fresh & frozen)
USDA PDP, 202490% of fresh samples (97% frozen) had zero detectable residue. Exceedance rate 0.5% (3 of 607).
Tangerines
USDA PDP, 2021High detection (97.4%) but narrow residue profile (16 distinct) and low multi-residue load (27.3% at four or more) — likely 1-2 dominant citrus treatments. Zero exceedances. Not retested in a later PDP cycle included here, so this reflects 2021 conditions only.
Watermelon
USDA PDP, 2023Consistent across all 3 cycles on file: 2021 (n=175, 0 exceedances), 2022 (n=709, 4 exceedances = 0.56%, did not recur), 2023 (n=525, 0 exceedances). The single 2022 exceedance did not repeat and never crossed 1% — not treated as a persistent pattern.
Winter Squash
USDA PDP, 2021Borderline result: 7 of 706 samples (0.99%) exceeded a tolerance in the 2021 cycle, just below SafeMama's 1% Column A threshold. Tied for the highest distinct-residue count in the 2021 cycle (82). Winter squash has not been retested in a later PDP cycle included in this analysis.
Placed in Column B because 0.99% is under the published 1% threshold as written — not moved on a "close enough" judgment, since doing so while telling readers placement is rule-based would undercut the point of publishing the rule at all.
Some staples aren’t here yet, and that isn’t a verdict. Spinach, strawberries, kale, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, bulb onions, snap peas, milk and oats fall in a PDP cycle that hadn’t published when we built this. Their absence means we have no current federal data to place them on — not that they tested clean. We’d rather leave a gap than fill it in.
About washing
These numbers already assume it. USDA rinses each sample for 15–20 seconds under running water — no special soap — before testing, the way a shopper would. So rinsing is not an extra step that lowers what you see here; it’s the condition these figures were measured in.
Skip the produce washes and the soap — and not merely because they’re unnecessary. FDA advises against them: they aren’t approved for use on food, their effectiveness hasn’t been established, and you can end up eating what they leave behind. FDA’s own advice is running water, plus a scrub brush on firm produce like melons.
If the budget is tight
Spend it on the Column A items yourfamily actually eats most. A strawberry-a-day toddler is a different calculation from an occasional bunch of kale — frequency matters more than the column does.
Based on the USDA Pesticide Data Program, 2021–2024 annual summaries. PDP republishes annually and rotates which commodities it samples; a commodity is left off this sheet rather than guessed at when its data is too old to be responsible about. How we built this sheet.
Safer alternatives, in order of value
- This isn't an avoidance list — Eating conventional produce always beats not eating produce — USDA's own data and AAP's own guidance agree on that. Nothing here is a reason to buy less produce.
- If organic is a stretch, spend it selectively — Rather than switching your whole cart, spend it where USDA's own testing says it goes furthest. The cheat sheet on this page sorts 33 commodities into two columns: apples, berries, grapes and leaf lettuce are where a limited organic budget buys the most, while onions, potatoes, citrus and head lettuce test consistently low.
Common questions
What the research says
A flexible 9-day road map for safely introducing top allergens
— Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN told BenBella Books (distributed by Simon & Schuster), ISBN 9781637745359 that ...
Safe and Simple Food Allergy Prevention: A Baby-Led Feeding Guide to Starting Solids and Introducing Top Allergens — BenBella Books (distributed by Simon & Schuster), ISBN 9781637745359 (2024-11-12)
the tactile investigation of food is part of development - it's necessary, productive and speeds up the learning curve.
— Jill Castle, MS, RDN told The Washington Post that ...
Let picky eaters play with their food, and don't force 'thank you' tastes — The Washington Post (2018-11-01)
When a child's appetite is ignored, he or she may lose the ability to regulate his or her own internal hunger and fullness cues
— Jill Castle, MS, RDN told CNN that ...
Of the four parental 'feeding styles,' only one is good for kids' health, experts say — CNN (2018-10-04)
Sources
- USDA Publishes 2024 Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary — USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (how we check this source)
- Pesticide Data Program overview — USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (how we check this source)
- About Pesticide Tolerances — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (how we check this source)
- Food Safety and Children — American Academy of Pediatrics (how we check this source)
Every source we cite is checked against our criteria first — see how we check our sources.