Top 10 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic

The National Academy of Sciences reported in 1993 that federal pesticide standards provide too little health protection for children and infants. Citing this report, the EPA's 1997 agenda seeks to establish new child-specific standards. "Certified organic" already applies the strictest standards, producing food without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. There's also integrated pest management (IPM), which restricts pesticide use, and local, in-season food, which is less likely to have been treated with post-harvest pesticides. The following 10 foods are a good place to start:

In 1995, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested eight baby foods made by industry leaders Gerber, Heinz and Beech-Nut. Some 16 pesticides were found in more than half of the samples. Organic baby foods include Earth's Best, Well-Fed Baby and Gerber's Tender Harvest, and you can make your own by cooking and puréeing organic food.

Because rice allergies are practically nonexistent, this cereal grass is a primary ingredient in baby foods. But pesticide use on rice fields in California's Sacramento River Valley, one major growing region, has been so heavy that it has contaminated groundwater.

Strawberries are the single most pesticide-contaminated fruit or vegetable in the U.S., according to a 1995 EWG study. No surprise, in a crop that receives a dose of up to 500 pounds of pesticides per acre. Straw-berries and other produce bought out-of-season are the most likely to have been imported, possibly from a country with less-stringent pesticide regulations.

The USDA recommends six to 11 servings of grains a day. But, in 1994, the FDA found illegal pesticide residues in a year's worth of General Mills' Cheerios oat-based cereal. And in 1996, the FDA found residues from at least one pesticide in 91% of wheat samples tested. Try a healthy variety of organic offerings: oats, wheat, millet, quinoa, barley, couscous, amaranth and spelt.

Milk comprises nearly a quarter of the non-nursing infant's diet, but many dairies inject their cows with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), a genetically engineered hormone used to boost milk production. Organic milk dairies don't use hormones or antibiotics.

Processed foods made with corn -- cornbread, chips and popcorn -- were among the top 15 foods likely to expose children to an unsafe dose of organophosphate (OP) pesticide residues, according to a 1998 report by EWG. Organic versions can readily be found.

Often the first fruit offered to babies, bananas are produced using benomyl (linked to birth defects) and chlorpyrifos (a neurotoxin). In Costa Rica, a major exporter, only 5% of farmland grows bananas, but they account for 35% of the country's pesticide consumption.

In 1992-93, contamination with pesticides illegal in the U.S. was found in 7.4% of green beans imported from Mexico. EWG's tests found three pesticides in conventional green bean baby food samples.

A recent Food & Drug Administration study found that 5% of the peach crop was contaminated. Peaches lead the EWG's list of foods likely to contain unsafe OP exposures.

Apples rank second on the EWG list for OP residues, and baby food apple juice also made the top 15. Organic and IPM alternatives can be found in some supermarkets. Mothers & Others introduced its "CORE Values Northeast" label in 1996, certifying apples grown regionally by growers practicing biointensive IPM. "CORE Values" was recently recognized by the USDA SARE Program as an "innovative, interesting and impactful" sustainable agriculture project.

You may also want to seek out organic nectarines, grapes and raisins, and kiwi fruit, all of which made EWG's "least wanted" list. Contact: EWG, 202/667-6982, www.ewg.org