In the recently released government report “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk:What We Can Do Now“, the Department of Agriculture tested pesticide levels in more than 80 different types of fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, nuts, grains and other foods produced in 10 different states to determine the level of pesticide contamination in food purchased by Americans. Surprisingly, less than 25% (23.1%) of the food products tested negative for any pesticides. Almost 30% of the food products tested positive for one type of pesticide residue, while the remainder of the food products tested positive for 2 or more pesticide contaminants. 

Which means that over 75% of the foods tested had at least one type of pesticide residue!

The (slightly) good news is that most of the food that tested positive for pesticide residues did test below the limits set by the EPA. Let that sink in for a minute. Most of the food tested below the EPA limits.

However there is some controversy that the limits set by the EPA may underestimate the health impacts of chronic pesticide residue exposure.