Nutritionists hail kale as a super healthy food, but recent testing shows that kale has higher pesticide residues than nearly all other produce found on supermarket shelves, according to the Environmental Working Group’s 2019 Dirty Dozen.

The EWG releases the Dirty Dozen list as part of its annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which analyzes Department of Agriculture test data to identify which fruits and vegetables are the most and least contaminated with pesticide residues. 

The Shopper’s Guide also includes the Clean Fifteen, a list of produce with the lowest number of residues.

“We were surprised that kale had so many pesticides on it, but the test results were unequivocal,” said EWG toxicologist Alexis Temkin, Ph.D. “Fruits and vegetables are an important part of everyone’s diet, and when it comes to conventionally grown produce items, like kale, choosing organic may be a better option.”

Here’s the full list of the Dirty Dozen containing pesticides:

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

EWG’s senior science advisor, Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., tells Newsmax that while it’s important to buy organic varieties of the produce listed above, “eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies is the foundation of a healthy diet — which is why we also provide consumers with the Clean Fifteen list, produce with the least amount of pesticide residue.

“There has been a clear increase nationally in the use of pesticides such as glyphosate, which is sprayed on genetically engineered, glyphosate-resistant crops as the acreage planted with these crops has increased.”

Here are the Clean Fifteen:

1. Avocados
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Sweet Peas, frozen
5. Onions
6. Papayas
7. Eggplants
8. Asparagus
9. Kiwis
10. Cabbages
11. Cauliflower
12. Cantaloupes
13. Broccoli
14. Mushrooms
15. Honeydew melons