Organic vs. Conventional Strawberries: Experts Explain the Difference

Fresh strawberries are one of the most popular summer fruits, but according to studies, they are most likely contaminated with pesticides. Strawberries are again at the top of the environmental work group (EEC) Dirty dozen– A list of fruit and vegetables that have the most pesticides.

“Strawberries are a tough harvest to grow and for insects and other pests, including perishable microbes Keith WarrinerProfessor at the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

While the EEC list for 2025 has not yet been published, information from the findings of the previous year is still helpful. For the 2024 guidelines of the EEC, researchers from the Environmental and Health Advocacy Group considered more than 47,000 samples of 46 fruit and vegetables. Non -biological strawberries had an average of eight pesticides per sample. The rest of The list Contains spinach, leaf vegetables (kale, collard, mustard green), nectarines, apples, grapes, peppers, cherries, peaches, pears, celery and tomatoes.

Warriner underlines the strict regulations for the use of pesticides. He assures consumers that it is unlikely that strawberries exceed these limits, and even the smallest amounts would be recognized immediately.

“Although there are pestazi residues, they would be a low level. So consumers should not be excessively concerned because the advantages of fruit and vegetables outweigh the negatives.”

Carl WinterPh.D., emeritus professor of food science at the University of California, Davis, question how the dirty dozen ranking lists are made, which indicates that “it is the amount of chemical, not their presence or absence”, which states how much risk there is.

“The best thing that consumers can do is to consume fruit and vegetables, regardless of whether they are conventionally or organically produced,” says Winter.

“I am concerned that ranking lists such as the dirty dozen consumers are afraid of fruit and vegetables and that they can lead to lower consumption of these healthy food.”

Do you remove the pesticides on strawberries?

It is a good idea to wash all the products before eating them. This can reduce the risk of disease -related illness, but cleaning is not always removed pesticides.

“You can find that some strawberries have a wax -like coating to prevent mold growth,” says Warriner. “This is not easy to remove by washing and even without the coating, washing would only remove a share.”

He says that researchers still have to develop paths to increase strawberries without pesticides and opportunities to remove the pesticides for products.

“Washing with water is not effective to remove chemical or microbiological contamination in fresh products,” says Xiaonan LUPh.D., Professor of Food Safety at McGill University in Quebec. “Cooking is effective to kill the microbes, but chemical leftovers remain with thermal processing.”

Although small amounts of pesticides can be washed away when cleaning products, winter is: “The normal pesticides on fruit and vegetables do not form risks for consumers.”

What about organic strawberries?

Fruit and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, so the EEC does not want the dirty dozen list to scare people off the products. The organization recommends that buyers opt for organic versions of food such as strawberries on the list.

According to Warriner, the organic label does not mean that no pesticides were used, but there are usually more restrictions. “Although organic implies organic, the reality is that pesticides can be used if necessary,” he says. “Organic producers can select varieties that have natural resistance to some pests and grow in floor -free systems with covers.”

Buying organic can be a choice for buyers who want to know that they receive fewer contaminants. The winter says: “But you should be ready to pay much more for organic berries, while the tiny pesticide residues that could possibly be on conventional berries are not a risk for consumers.”