CLEANING UP THE DIRTY DOZEN

We’ve championed organic as a tried, tested and trusted way of farming since 1988. One of the many reasons for that is because organic food is grown with zero artificial pesticides. We’re proud that all of our organic fruit and veg is free from artificial pesticides and always will be – just as nature intended. Here to tell you more about pesticides, their impact and why we’ve launched our new Clean Up The Dirty Dozen Box is Ed, our Sustainability & Ethics Advisor.

What are pesticides?

Pesticides are poisons designed to protect crops by killing living organisms. They can easily contaminate the air, ground and water when they run off from fields or are not stored properly. And they can have a devastating effect on biodiversity.


What’s the Dirty Dozen?

Pesticides used in agriculture can often leave detectable traces of chemicals in, or on, food known as ‘residues’. The residues detected will depend on a range of factors including which pesticides have been used, when in the growing season they were applied and how persistent they are – in other words, how long they take to decompose.

The UK government tests roughly 3,000kg of food for pesticide residues each year. Once the results are published, the experts at the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) analyse this data and share a list of the produce most likely to contain multiple potentially harmful pesticide residues, known as the ‘Dirty Dozen’. Over the last six years, some of the ‘worst offenders’ have been citrus fruits, strawberries, grapes, stone fruits and salad veg.

Often, the pesticides found on our food aren’t just skin-deep. Some can’t even be washed off, since they’re applied while the plant is growing and are inside the produce itself. As pests around the world become immune to these treatments, they’re often applied in combinations and increasing amounts to remain effective. The effects of these pesticide ‘cocktails’ and the chemical reactions produced aren’t tested, either by the manufacturers or governments, and no one knows just how toxic they may be to humans.


Why is organic food different?

The Clean Up The Dirty Dozen Box is our new, organic Fruit & Veg Box, created to give those who might not always purchase organic fruit & veg a great place to start – where making the switch to organic really makes a big difference to our health and the planet.

PAN UK have done some great work putting together their ‘Dirty Dozen’ lists to help us all make more informed shopping decisions. We’re really proud to support this with our Clean Up The Dirty Dozen Box, which includes a weekly changing selection of the most essential fruit and veg to eat organically, taken from their ‘Dirty Dozen’ lists over the last few years.

If you want to avoid the worst pesticide residues, our latest organic box is perfect for you. Your family. And the planet.


How does the box help shoppers avoid the ‘worst’ pesticide residues?

PAN UK’s ‘Dirty Dozen' lists the produce that’s most likely to have multiple potentially harmful pesticide residues. According to PAN, this is because:

“The government sets safety limits for just one pesticide at a time, ignoring the growing body of evidence that chemicals can become more harmful when combined (a phenomenon known as the ‘cocktail effect’). This not only ignores the potential risks to human health associated with pesticide mixtures found on one item (an apple, for example) but also those found in one dish (such as a fruit salad), let alone an entire day’s worth of food.”

This 'cocktail effect' is a key concern for PAN UK when it comes to questions about the potential impact of pesticides on human health – so having multiple pesticide residues present on our food is effectively 'the worst' kind of pesticide residue.

Harmful, artificial pesticides are completely banned in organic farming, and choosing organic fruit and veg, particularly those from our Clean Up The Dirty Dozen Box, is a good way to keep them out of your diet.

In the long term, fewer pesticides mean greater biodiversity and more resilient crops. Good for farmers. Good for people. And good for our planet.

Published May 2025