Organic Frozen Berries: Yes or No? page

[echoyjeff222]

I was wondering if frozen berries were something that would be ideal to buy organic -- do frozen berries have less pesticides in general than fresh berries?

Either way, would you recommend spending my "organic food" budget on berries, or on something else like meat?

[Drumroll]

Sounds like an ok option. Just beware that freezing can lower antioxidant count slightly in many foods, so fresh is still your best option.

[echoyjeff222]

I probably can't afford fresh berries ... so is it worth it to buy organic berries, or are conventional frozen berries not THAT bad (in terms of pesticides)

[Dirlot]

If they are organic they should not have pesticides.

[zoebird]

we buy conventional because it's less expensive than organic by 1/3.

but if you can afford to buy organic, it's fine.

awesome with coconut cream on top. and two chopped brazil nuts (selenium!).

[echoyjeff222]

@zoe, costco?

costco quality seems decent?

[Wanderlust]

I get the frozen berries at costco, I am not the "Primal Power that be" though.

[JoanieL]

Depending on where the fresh of an item is being shipped from, frozen can be as good or even better than fresh. The reason being that the item is frozen so close to where it's picked/fished/etc. If you search the blog, Mark mentions frozen somewhere as something good.

Also, for practicality, if you're shopping for a small family, frozen won't spoil as quickly as fresh. I vote for frozen organic as a good thing.

[jpatti]

I think the most important foods to buy clean are animal foods, pastured meat, poultry & eggs, wild-caught fish, raw dairy. For me, if broke, I'd rather buy more eggs and less of everything else than buy crappy animal foods.

For me, the exception is I'll buy crappy CAFO bones for broth, as I figure if the animal could stand, it has plenty of gelatin and minerals.

As far as making produce decisions, both strawberries and blueberries are part of the "dirty dozen", so if you can afford it, better to get organic, whereas if budget issues are a problem buying organic produce, better to stick to the "clean 15" more: EWG's 2012 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce

[zoebird]

I'm in NZ. There is no costco here.