Thanks to the bounty of fruits and vegetables in most American supermarkets, people can radically minimize consumption of the twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables with no nutritional risk. All of the vitamins, nutrients, and carotenoids provided by the crops on the list of the twelve most contaminated, are found in abundance in other fruits and vegetables available in just about any grocery store. Carotenoids include the relatively well-known beta carotene and a host of other related chemicals. In fact, few of the twelve most contaminated foods, with the notable exception of spinach, provide high levels of vitamins and carotenoids.
Strawberries are a good source of vitamin C, but vitamin C is very common in fruits and vegetables.
Strawberries also have consistently high levels of fungicides, including two, captan and iprodione, that are classified by the EPA as probable human carcinogens, and another, vinclozolin, that blocks the normal functioning of the male hormone, androgen. Strawberries are also routinely contaminated with endosulfan, a relative of DDT that interferes with normal hormone function by imitating the hormone estrogen. Nutritious substitutes with far lower pesticide residues are blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwis, and a host of other fruits rich in vitamin C. Green bell peppers are a good source of vitamn C, and red bell peppers add vitamin A and a moderate dose of carotenoids to a meal. Unfortunately, bell peppers are more heavily contaminated with neurotoxic insecticides than all other crops analyzed. Good alternatives include broccoli, romaine lettuce, or carrots among many others.