Three out of five non-organic apples have residues of a toxic chemical sprayed after harvest
UPDATED WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2025
Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables – including apples – is good for our health. Apples are a source of fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants, and they’re a kid-friendly snack. But if you want to reduce your exposure to pesticides, it will help to understand what residues might be on your produce.
Diphenylamine is a chemical used to prevent the skin of apples in cold storage from developing brown or black patches. It’s applied to most non-organic, or conventionally grown, apples.
Diphenylamine was found on 60 percent of tests conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists of 334 raw non-organic apple samples. The tests were conducted in 2023, the most recent year for which data are available. Most of the samples came from apples grown in the U.S.
The percent of apples with residue was lower than in the previous round of apple tests, from 2014-2016, which found diphenylamine on 80 percent of non-organic samples. But the average concentration on apples was similar, 0.22 and 0.26 parts per million, respectively. The USDA continued to collect and analyze apple samples through 2024 and will release the full data in 2026.
Although diphenylamine does not kill insects, weeds or fungal growth, it is regulated as a pesticide. The EPA contends that diphenylamine treatment does not pose a risk to human health. In 2019, the agency publishedan interim decisionto continue allowing diphenylamine to be used on apples.
By contrast, in 2012 European regulators did not approve the chemical for use, concluding diphenylamine manufacturers had not conducted enough tests to prove the safety of their product and any chemicals formed when it broke down.
They also raised concerns about the potential presence of nitrosamines, cancer-causing chemicals they may form on apples when diphenylamine is combined with nitrogen-containing compounds. As of 2018, the allowable limit of diphenylamine on apples in the EU was set at the lowest level that analytical methods can detect.
Since diphenylamine is sprayed on fruit after it is harvested, USDA tests find it more often and at greater concentrations than they do most other pesticide residues on apples, with the exception of the fungicide pyrimethanil. Diphenylamine was found in only 5 percent of 540 non-organic applesauce samples, also collected in 2023 as part of USDA test of different types of baby food.
Other pesticides found on apples
Apples are typically on EWG’s Dirty Dozen™ list in part because 90 percent of samples contain two or more residues and they contain residues from more than four different pesticides, on average, including some at high concentrations.Additionally, 97 percent of samples contain at least one residue.
- Forty-four different residues were detected in the set of all 334 non-organic apple samples.
- Pyrimethanil and fludioxonil are fungicides found on 66 and 48 percent of apples, respectively. Pyrimethanil has been linked to thyroid disruption during pregnancy and both pesticides may block androgen receptors in the body, possibly harming the male reproductive system.
- Acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, was found on 36 percent of apples. The EU recently advocated reducing the safe level of exposure for acetamiprid, because of concern about harm to the developing nervous system.
Recommendations for consumers
If you’d like to reduce pesticide exposure, there are simple steps you can take, without giving up apples.
EWG recommends continuing to eat apples, as well as other fruits and vegetables. If apples are a favorite food, consider choosing organic apples, apple juice, applesauce and pears, when possible, to minimize exposure to diphenylamine, its breakdown products and other potentially dangerous pesticide residues, since some pesticides penetrate the peel and pulp of the apple.
Make sure to wash all produce with water before consuming to help reduce pesticide levels as well as pathogens. One study suggests a solution of baking soda and water may be more effective than water alone at reducing some pesticide levels on apples.
Peeling apples can also further reduce pesticide levels. But it could also reduce the levels of fiber, some vitamins and other nutrients, based on the levels of nutrients reported in peeled and unpeeled apples from the USDA food composition database.
About EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
EWG has published the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce almost every year since 2004.
It’s a suite of materials investigating the presence of pesticides in foods and helps consumers find ways to reduce exposure to pesticides while consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables.
It includes two lists, the first is the Clean Fifteen, the conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with very low or no traces of pesticides. The second is the Dirty Dozen, or the 12 fresh non-organic fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residues.
Some pesticides have more data linking them to health concerns than others. These pesticides are particularly concerning for children. The brain and nervous systems, as well as other physiological systems of young children are far from fully developed and are especially sensitive to disruption and damage from industrial chemicals, including pesticides.
The presence of so many different pesticides in foods is also also concerning from a public health standpoint. When regulating pesticides, government bodies consider them only one at a time without considering the potential total body burden for consumers. There’s little available data about how multiple pesticides interact with each other in the body or how such mixtures could compound each chemical’s individual potential health harms. But the data we do have, primarily from animal studies, suggests that when chemicals are present in a mixture, they can be more toxic combined than individually.
About EWG’s Shopper’s Guide
EWG has published the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce almost every year since 2004.
It’s a suite of materials investigating the presence of pesticides in foods and helps consumers find ways to reduce exposure to pesticides while consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables.
It includes two lists, the first is the Clean Fifteen, the conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with very low or no traces of pesticides. The second is the Dirty Dozen, or the 12 fresh non-organic fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residues.
Some pesticides have more data linking them to health concerns than others. These pesticides are particularly concerning for children. The brain and nervous systems, as well as other physiological systems of young children are far from fully developed and are especially sensitive to disruption and damage from industrial chemicals, including pesticides.
The presence of so many different pesticides in foods is also also concerning from a public health standpoint. When regulating pesticides, government bodies consider them only one at a time without considering the potential total body burden for consumers. There’s little available data about how multiple pesticides interact with each other in the body or how such mixtures could compound each chemical’s individual potential health harms. But the data we do have, primarily from animal studies, suggests that when chemicals are present in a mixture, they can be more toxic combined than individually.
More information
Here are more resources from EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce:
