Another Study Finding Lead and Arsenic in Apple and Grape Juice

The issue is with concentrate imported from China. So buy American, not-from concentrate brands and you'll be fine. Also, if you dilute it, it should be fine.

here is what the FDA says about the arsenic in apple juice
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm2715...
Questions & Answers: Apple Juice and Arsenic

What is arsenic?
Arsenic is present in the environment as a naturally occurring substance or as a result of contamination from human activity. It is found in water, air, food and soil in organic and inorganic forms.

There are two types of arsenic: organic and inorganic. The inorganic forms of arsenic are the harmful forms, while the organic forms of arsenic are essentially harmless. Because both forms of arsenic have been found in soil and ground water, small amounts may be found in certain food and beverage products, including fruit juices and juice concentrates.

What type of arsenic has been found to be in fruit juices?
Organic and inorganic forms of arsenic have both been found in juices.

Is one type of arsenic more harmful than the other?
Yes. The inorganic forms of arsenic are the harmful forms, while the organic forms of arsenic are essentially harmless.

Are apple and other fruit juices safe to drink?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been testing for arsenic in apple juice and other fruit juices for decades as part of FDA programs that look for harmful substances in food. We continue to find the vast majority of apple juice tested to contain low levels of arsenic. For this reason, FDA is confident in the overall safety of apple juice consumed in this country.

Why is arsenic being found in fruit juices?
Organic and inorganic forms of arsenic can be found in soil and ground water, and as a result, small amounts may be found in certain food and beverage products.

Arsenic-based pesticides were commonly used in United States agricultural production up until 1970, when more effective substances became available. As a result, trace levels of organic and inorganic forms of arsenic can be detected in some agricultural settings, which may lead to small amounts of arsenic in certain foods and beverages.

Can consumers choose apple juice with less arsenic by looking at where it is made?
The juice sold by any one company can be made from concentrate that is literally sourced throughout the world, including U.S. domestic sources. For example, Asia and South America are major suppliers of apple juice concentrate. Even if a company buys concentrate from only one supplier in a country, such as Argentina, that supplier may be getting juice from a dozen or more different farms within Argentina. If you test enough juice from such a supplier, you will find some lots with higher amounts of arsenic than others. This could be due to different amounts of arsenic in orchard soils.

Testing a small number of samples of different brands of juice only provides a snapshot in time of how much arsenic was in a particular lot of juice. Without a long term survey of many lots of juice from different companies, there is not sufficient data to say one company has lower amounts of arsenic in its juice than any other company. Based on data collected by the FDA over many years, there is no evidence that juice on the market in the U.S. presents a public health risk from arsenic.

Does organic apple juice have less arsenic than non-organic apple juice?
The FDA is unaware of any data that shows that organic juice tends to have less arsenic than non-organic apple juice. Even organic apples come from trees that grow in soil that may contain arsenic. The FDA is not aware of any data on arsenic in organic juice vs. non-organic juice.

Has FDA set a standard for arsenic in fruit juice?
No. Available scientific evidence indicates that if arsenic occurs, it almost always does so at very low levels. But FDA is collecting all relevant information to evaluate and determine if setting guidance or other level for inorganic arsenic in apple juice is appropriate.

Has FDA set a standard for arsenic in bottled water?
Yes. The maximum level of arsenic allowed in bottled water is 10 micrograms in one liter of bottled water or 10 parts per billion (ppb).

Why is there a standard for arsenic in bottled water but not in fruit juice?
UPDATED 09/28/2011
As stated above, we are considering setting a standard.

What does the FDA look for when testing juice for arsenic? NEW
The FDA first tests the juice sample for total (organic and inorganic) arsenic to see if the levels are too high. When test results show total arsenic levels are too high, the FDA re-tests the sample for its inorganic arsenic content, the type of arsenic considered harmful to humans. Some scientific studies have shown that two forms of organic arsenic found in apple juice could also be harmful, and because of this, the FDA counts these two forms of organic arsenic in with the overall content for inorganic arsenic. Moreover, they occur at extremely low levels, adding less than 1% to the total low levels of inorganic arsenic found in apple juice. As the FDA has confirmed, these extremely small amounts do not present a risk to public health.

What is the FDA doing to protect the public against arsenic in fruit juice?
The FDA collects and tests for arsenic, including inorganic arsenic, in fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates made in the U.S. as part of FDA programs that look for harmful substances in food. The FDA considers test results for inorganic arsenic on a case-by-case basis, and takes regulatory action as appropriate.

The FDA also currently has an Import Alert for surveillance of arsenic, including inorganic arsenic, in fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. An Import Alert is a measure used by FDA to keep potentially dangerous products out of the U.S.

I have heard reports of test results showing high levels of arsenic in apple juice products. What advice would FDA give consumers based on this information?
Unless we can determine that the test methods used were for inorganic arsenic and that the method was accurate and properly performed, we are not able to specifically address the test results. It is important to remember that test results for total arsenic do not distinguish between the essentially harmless organic forms of arsenic and the harmful inorganic forms of arsenic. It would be inappropriate to draw conclusions about the safety of a product based on the total arsenic level.

Did the FDA test any of the samples tested by the Dr. Oz Show?
On September 10-11, 2011, the FDA completed laboratory analysis of the same lot of Gerber apple juice that was tested by the Dr. Oz. Show, as well as several other lots produced in the same facility. The FDA's testing detected very low levels of total arsenic in all samples tested. These new results were consistent with the FDA's results obtained in the FDA's routine monitoring program and are well below the results reported by the Dr. Oz Show. The FDA has concluded that the very low levels detected during our analysis are not a public health risk and the juice products are safe for consumption.

According to this you need to watch for imported juice.

That was quoted in the original article everyone was talking about. Did you read the other post? Arsenic is naturally occurring in apples. It's such a minuscule amount, it won't hurt your kiddos or mine. Apple juice is fine, nothing to be confused about.

I think these are naturally occurring chemicals that are found many places and in many things. If the food and drug agencies have not found issues I would not get caught up in sensationalism.

If you see where a food has been recalled or warnings are going out about it then that is when you go get it off the shelves.

I will still buy juice no matter what - although my daughter prefers tomato juice (OH NO - SODIUM!!!). Alarmists are everywhere. It's not like we chug a gallon every hour and chew the apple seeds where arsenic naturally occurs.

Now I'm going to gnaw on a pencil for my lead supplement.

Hi,

If you really want to give your family the best juices possible, get yourself a great juicer and juice for yourself. Buy the organic fruits and veggies and run them through the juicer. It's a bit time consuming, but well worth it.

"Grams"
from the Pocono Mts. of PA

My kids mainly drink milk or water. Juice is empty calories and isn't very nutritious anyway unless they fortify it with vitamin C, but you can get C from plenty of other sources. One tip is to make sure your kids are getting plenty of calcium and iron in their diets. These help their little bodies not absorb lead (which is also everywhere from old paint, certain types of toys, etc.), and I assume the same would apply to arsenic too since these are all metals.

If the oranges are from the US, orange juice is probably fine. I like the suggestion about making your own juice. But personally, I'd rather just have my kids eat apples, grapes or oranges.

As an aside, there's so much out there to worry about. You know those little clementine oranges that are easy to peel? Well the ones from Spain (which are the only kind available in my region) are coated with horrible chemicals (it says so right on the crate), which of course get on your hands when you peel the oranges and then you eat them. So I'm switching to domestic naval oranges.

If you are really concerned, maybe you could make your own. You don't have to have an expensive juicer. I prefer the blenders that pulverize the whole fruit or vegetable so you don't throw away the fiber and other nutrients.
Someone suggested that one reason the arsenic levels are high is because of seeds. So you may want to remove the seeds before juicing.