Blackberries and potatoes have been added to the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG’s) “Dirty Dozen” list of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables in 2025, the research and advocacy group said in a June 11 statement.
The EWG analyzed 47 foods for pesticides. In 2023, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) tested blackberries for the first time, finding there was at least one pesticide in 93 percent of the blackberry samples, the EWG said in another statement, adding that more than 80 percent of the samples had two or more pesticides.
“The most common pesticide found on blackberries was cypermethrin, detected on just over half of conventional samples. This synthetic pyrethroid insecticide is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a possible human carcinogen,” the group said….