Should You Buy Organic Apples?

By Nicci Micco, September/October 2009

Plus, 4 ways to reduce your exposure to pesticide residues.

READER'S COMMENT:

"your are very misinformed and misleading others- apples are on the top " dirty dozen list" each person should really do there own research and Any pestisides are bad for you, they are not natural, if they kill bugs, they will kill you...

Healthy Apple Recipes:
Easy Apple Recipes
Healthy Apple Desserts
Healthy Apple Pie and More Fall Pie Recipes
Heart-Healthy Apple Recipes
Apple Buyer's Guide
The Family Tree: Celebrate Fall with a Trip to the Apple Orchard

As a nutrition editor, I know the value of eating loads of fruits and vegetables. I prefer to buy local when I can, but I’ve never been a purist about eating only organic. Now that I’m a mom, there are some foods I feel more comfortable about buying organic. Apples are one of these foods. Twenty-five years ago, mothers had to worry about Alar, a spray used to redden apples and make them ripen at the same time. Luckily, I don’t have to: Alar’s manufacturer pulled it from the market in 1989 after reports linked the chemical to cancer. This “Alar scare” (which many now say was overblown) ultimately may have made apples—and produce in general—safer by forcing the Environmental Protection Agency to re-evaluate pesticide regulations.