Friday, July 22, 2011

Apple Juice - NOW WITH ADDED ARSENIC!


Arsenic may not be the ingredient you expect in your kid’s apple juice, but recent findings suggest it could be on the table. It turns out that non-organic apple juice may have dangerous levels of arsenic.

Recent testing by Food and Water Watch exposed apple juice containing over 5 times the legal limit (55ppm) of arsenic imposed by the EPA for drinking water (10ppm). Food and Water Watch released this information along with a letter they wrote to the FDA asking for them to finally establish safety limits for arsenic in fruit juice. There is currently no legal limit on arsenic (or other heavy metals) in fruit juice established or enforced by the FDA.

While Food and Water Watch did not speculate on the source of the arsenic contamination, but there is a likely culprit. It turns out that some pesticides contain arsenic and other heavy metals. Apparently, in the breakdown of these chemicals, some of the arsenic can be absorbed by the apple tree and end up in the fruit... and then in your juice. Not exactly the ingredients you want to be feeding your toddler, is it?

This release comes just on the heels of Food and Water Watch’s report titled “A Decade of Dangerous Food Imports from China”. In our previous posts, we have discussed the importance of buying and consuming organic foods that are from sources you trust. Organic foods are restricted from using almost all synthetic pesticides, making them a safer choice. Because growers try to reduce blemishes on their fruits, they use more pesticides than in most other crops. Apples made it onto the top of this year’s EWG list of most pesticide laden foods. As with any health issue, it’s what you don’t know that could hurt you.


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Researched and written by Dr. Rebecca Malamed, M.D. with assistance from Mr. Malcolm Potter.

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