You Don’t Need These Fizzing Gizmos to Clean Your Produce

In the United States, pesticides approved by the Environmental Protection Agency are used to help protect crops from disease, insects, fungi, and other pests. As a result, chemical residue can often remain on produce even as it’s harvested, packaged, and sold.

The EPA establishes tolerances for pesticide-chemical residue on food, while the Food and Drug Administration enforces those levels through its regulatory pesticide residue monitoring program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also monitors the level of pesticide residue through its Pesticide Data Program, which provides guidance to the EPA and FDA to assess dietary exposure and provide general recommendations.

As of the most recent FDA pesticide residue monitoring report, which was issued in 2022, the pesticide levels on produce in the country are within the EPA’s safety limits and relatively low. Of the 731 domestic produce samples analyzed, 96% were in compliance, and 43% had no detectable pesticide residue at all.

Still, environmental-health researcher Tracey Woodruff is skeptical of the EPA and FDA guidelines, which she says lacks nuance. The EPA evaluates pesticides individually, Woodruff stated in a phone interview, but in the real world, consumers are exposed to a mixture of pesticides with varying toxicities — and animal studies have shown that exposure to mixtures of pesticides can be more toxic than exposure to one pesticide at a time, even at low levels.

But not all the experts we spoke to were overly concerned about pesticide exposure in the United States.

“The overwhelming scientific evidence indicates that pesticide levels on fresh produce in the United States are low and generally meet safety thresholds set by agencies like the EPA,” Schaffner said. “Personally, I just wash the fruits and vegetables in my home under cold running water. I would not spend the money on a [produce] cleaner.”

The most effective way to lower your exposure to pesticides, Woodruff added, is to eat more organic produce. Studies have shown that people who eat an organic diet have lower rates of pesticides found in their bodies than those who eat non-organic. Certified organic produce can be significantly more expensive than conventionally grown produce, however.

Although some research has shown that electrolysis shows promise as a method for reducing pesticide residue, the evidence behind devices like the Garrnish and AquaPure pesticide purifiers is thin, and even if we had confidence in their claims, their high prices may outweigh the benefits.

The experts we spoke with said there’s probably no harm in using these devices. But for most people, sticking to a thorough rinse with water is the simplest and most cost-effective approach to scrubbing your fruits and veggies clean.

This article was edited by Katie Okamoto and Catherine Kast.