Consumer Reports tests juices for arsenic and lead

[No Elephants]

Source: Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports tests juices for arsenic and lead
Nov 30, 2011 6:00 AMNov 30, 2011 6:00 AM

Findings of a Consumer Reports investigation about arsenic and lead levels in apple juice and grape juice have prompted the organization to call for government standards to limit consumers’ exposure to these toxins.

The tests of 88 samples of apple juice and grape juice purchased in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut by Consumer Reports staffers found that 10 percent of those samples had total arsenic levels exceeding federal drinking-water standards of 10 parts per billion (ppb) and 25 percent had lead levels higher than the 5 ppb limit for bottled water set by the Food and Drug Administration. Most of the arsenic detected in our tests was the type called inorganic, which is a human carcinogen.

The investigation included an analysis of the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2003 to 2008. The results of that analysis suggest that these juices may be an important contributor to dietary arsenic exposure. Through interviews with physicians and authors of peer-reviewed studies, Consumer Reports also found mounting scientific evidence suggesting that chronic exposure to arsenic and lead even at levels below federal standards for water can result in serious health problems, especially for those who are exposed in the womb or during early childhood. FDA data and other research reveal that arsenic has been detected at disturbing levels in other foods as well.

While federal limits exist for arsenic and lead levels in bottled and drinking water, no limits are defined for fruit juices, which a recent Consumer Reports’ poll of parents confirms are a mainstay of many children’s diets. The FDA says when a fruit juice sample has 23 ppb or more of total arsenic, it will retest the sample to determine how much of it is inorganic, because according to the agency’s 2008 hazard assessment, 23 ppb of inorganic arsenic would represent a potential health risk. But that 23 ppb “level of concern” is not a mandatory limit, nor is it based on arsenic’s well-established cancer risks.

Read more: http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2011/11/consumer-reports-tests-juices-for-arsenic-and-lead.html

---

As you may recall, Dr. Mehmet Oz claimed that apple juice contained lead.

The United States Food and Drug Administration, whose only (legal) source of support is taxpayer dollars and whose job it is to protect Americans, hastened to reassure the public.

The FDA claimed that there are standards for apple juice. There are not.

The FDA claimed that the only arsenic in apple juice was the non-harmful kind. That was not true, either.

The FDA also published its own findings online--except for the 8 that supported Dr. Oz's claim, which the FDA conveniently omitted from the online posting.

Drink up, babies and toddlers! (Yeah, yeah, I know. They shouldn't be drinking that much juice anyway, because of calories and cavities.)