The ‘Dirty Dozen’ Gets It Wrong About California Produce

Every year, headlines warn shoppers about the so-called “Dirty Dozen,” a list that suggests common fruits and vegetables are coated in dangerous chemicals. Those stories generate fear, but they consistently ignore the facts. In California, the science tells a very different story, one grounded in safety, accountability, and care.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s most recent produce monitoring report confirms that food grown here is among the safest in the world. DPR tested more than 3,500 unwashed samples of fruits and vegetables sold across the state. Ninety-seven percent had either no detectable pesticide residues or levels far below strict federal safety limits. 

When DPR narrowed its focus to food labeled “Grown in California,” the results were even clearer. Out of more than 1,050 samples, over 99.7 percent were residue-free or well within safety standards.

These outcomes reflect decades of deliberate work by farmers, farm workers, scientists, pest management professionals, and regulators who share a single objective: protecting public health while ensuring a reliable and affordable food supply.

Over more than 20 years working in communications and public affairs, I have worked alongside agricultural groups, farmers, water agencies, pest control operators, farmworkers, chemical manufacturers, regulators, and elected officials. What they all have in common is that this industry is personal. They live in the same communities as the families they feed. Their children attend the same schools. They buy the same produce found on store shelves. Safety is not a talking point. It is a responsibility.

Behind DPR’s statistics are real people and real science. 

Each year, hundreds of thousands of California farmers and farmworkers receive training on the responsible use of agricultural tools. 

Modern pest control products undergo years of rigorous testing before they are approved for use. These evaluations examine environmental behavior, water safety, and potential human health impacts. Federal and state reviews can take more than a decade, often longer than the approval process for most pharmaceuticals.

The phrase “no detectable residues” may sound simple, but given our modern science, it reflects extraordinary precision. 

Today’s laboratories can detect substances at levels as low as parts per billion and parts per trillion. For perspective, one part per billion is like a single drop of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And one part per trillion is like one drop in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools. So, when the DPR report states that it found “no detectable residues,” it means nothing was found under extraordinarily sensitive levels. 

DPR’s program is intentionally rigorous. The report notes that they prioritize foods consumed by infants and children, crops with past issues, and imports from countries with weaker oversight. The goal is to find problems, not avoid them. Even with that approach, California agriculture continues to pass the test.

At a time when misinformation spreads faster than facts, it is worth stating plainly: fear is not food policy. Science is. 

California’s agricultural community has earned public trust through accountability, innovation, and care. Every bite of food grown here reflects that commitment.