The Clean 15: Foods that you don't need to buy Organic

Have you ever stood in the market asking yourself if it’s necessary to buy a certain vegetable/fruit from the organic section?

Well, there are some fruits and vegetables that doesn’t need to be bought organic because they are less likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues. So go ahead and buy conventional produce that's the least likely to contain pesticide residues and save your organic dollars for produce that tends to have the highest amounts of pesticide residue (aka the Dirty Dozen).

You can feel good about buying the following 15 fruits and vegetables conventional, starting with the least contaminated ones.

1. Avocados

Good news, guacamole lovers! Of the conventional avocados tested, fewer than 1 percent contained pesticides (with only one pesticide found).

2. Sweet Corn

When it comes to pesticides, sweet corn is one of the cleanest conventional foods you can buy (less than 2 percent had any detected pesticide residues). A small amount of sweet corn is grown from genetically engineered seeds, so if you choose to avoid genetically engineered crops, opt for organic corn.

3. Pineapples

Almost all (90 percent) of conventional pineapples tested had no pesticide residues.

4. Onions

Of all the conventional onions tested, less than 10 percent tested contained pesticide residues.

5. Papayas

A large majority (80 percent) of papaya tested had no pesticide residues. However, a small amount of papaya is produced from genetically modified seeds, so opt for organic papaya if you want to be sure to avoid genetically modified produce.

6. Frozen Sweet Peas

A large majority (80 percent) of conventional frozen sweet peas tested had no pesticide residues, with no more than two pesticides detected.

7. Eggplant
8. Asparagus
9. Broccoli
10. Cabbage

A large majority (86 percent) of conventional cabbage tested had no pesticide residues, and only two of more than 700 cabbage samples contained more than one pesticide residue.

11. Kiwi
12. Cauliflower
13. Mushrooms
14. Honeydew Melon
15. Cantaloupe