Ranking
Foods worth buying organic
This is the ranking that actually answers the question, because it combines the measured residue gap with how often the food ends up on your plate.
| # | Food | Priority score | Verdict | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🍧Frozen berries765 conventional samples · 100 organic | 55/100 | Higher priority | $4.49org $5.99 |
| 2 | 🍎Apples1,485 conventional samples · 98 organic | 52/100 | Higher priority | $2.09org $3.19 |
| 3 | 🍓Strawberries1,337 conventional samples · 69 organic | 48/100 | Higher priority | $4.29org $6.49 |
| 4 | 🍷Grapes2,046 conventional samples · 75 organic | 45/100 | Higher priority | $3.29org $4.99 |
| 5 | 🍐Pears2,018 conventional samples · 104 organic | 42/100 | Higher priority | $2.29org $3.49 |
| 6 | 🌱Celery1,316 conventional samples · 93 organic | 41/100 | Higher priority | $2.49org $3.49 |
| 7 | 🍌Bananas1,456 conventional samples · 134 organic | 39/100 | Higher priority | $0.72org $1.09 |
| 8 | 🫐Blueberries1,202 conventional samples · 140 organic | 38/100 | Higher priority | $3.99org $5.79 |
| 9 | 🍇Blackberries883 conventional samples · 138 organic | 38/100 | Higher priority | $3.49org $4.99 |
| 10 | 🍃Spinach1,277 conventional samples · 120 organic | 35/100 | Consider organic | $3.29org $4.49 |
| 11 | 🧊Frozen mixed vegetables1,176 conventional samples · 82 organic | 35/100 | Consider organic | $2.49org $3.49 |
| 12 | 🥗Romaine lettuce2,110 conventional samples · 97 organic | 34/100 | Consider organic | $3.99org $5.49 |
Why this ranking looks the way it does
A large residue gap on a fruit you buy twice a summer matters less than a moderate gap on something you eat five days a week. Priority score multiplies the gap by an exposure weight derived from typical purchase volume, then discounts it where the sample sets are thin.
That is why apples outrank nectarines here despite indexing lower on raw residue evidence — Americans eat apples several times a week and nectarines a handful of times a year. It is also why the ordering differs from the pure residue tables, and why we think this is the more useful list of the two.
Once you have your list, the organic budget optimizer takes the next step: it divides each priority score by what the upgrade actually costs, so a one-dollar upgrade on carrots can outrank a four-dollar upgrade on strawberries.
Build a grocery list that applies this automatically, or open the organic budget optimizer to price the upgrades.