Is there Arsenic in Your Child’s Juice?

Recently I wrote about Why My Family Does Not Drink Juice and Why you Need to Know Where Your Honey Comes From. Now there arises another reason to be more aware of what we eat and drink.
This week Dr. Oz aired a show where he investigated arsenic in apple juice.  Much of our apple juice concentrate comes from China. China happens to have more naturally occurring arsenic in its soil. Additionally, China uses arsenic as a pesticide.
The EPA has set a limit of 0.01 parts per million (ppm) for arsenic in drinking water.Levels of arsenic in soil from 5 ppm up to 20 ppm are generally viewed as safe, even if contact with arsenic at these levels continues for many years. As the level of arsenic increases, however, there is some slight increase in the likelihood of chronic health effects from contact over many years. This could include a very small increase in the risk of cancer, and cardiovascular disease. These diseases are widespread, have many risk factors and take many years to develop - - so the part that environmental exposure to arsenic plays in the risk of disease is generally quite small.
Even if you do not drink apple juice you need to be aware of where the juice is coming from because apple juice is often used as a substitute for sugar in sweetening products.
In the study that Dr. Oz did he found that Apple Juices had higher than the  acceptable limits of arsenic set by the EPA for water.
Of these, 10 samples came back higher than the arsenic limit allowed in drinking water.
Note: Lab results standard deviation is +/- 20%
Minute Maid Apple Juice
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 2 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion
Apple and Eve Apple Juice
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 11 parts per billion

Mott’s
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 4 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 16 parts per billion

Juicy Juice
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 2 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 22 parts per billion

Gerber
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 36 parts per billion
 
In the study it did say that the standard of deviation is 20%. This standard is a little high for my liking. But I would like to think that is because the sample sizes where small. But even with that standard deviation of 20%, three of the samples still have higher levels of arsenic than what is acceptable in our drinking water.  The brands that tested too high even after the standard of deviation of 20% were Motts, Juicy Juice, and Gerber.
Now the Website Fruit Juice Facts website has a rebuttal. They do not think that the standard for dinking water should apply to apple juice, because according to them people drink more water than they do apple juice.  Now for my two cents, children tend to drink more juice than adults. They also have a lower body weight. Because of this toxins accumulate much more quickly in their little bodies.
Couple that with the fact that a cup of apple juice is no different than a cup of soda, nutritionally,
So what is a concerned parent to do?

• Limit the amount of juice your children drink, all types.  Pediatricians recommend limited the amount of juice young children drink to 4 oz. a day.
• If and when you drink juice, drink organic juices, none of the organic juices tested had arsenic in them,
• Read the label carefully, check for concentrate from China. Often the product will say packaged in the US but the source is from another country.  When in doubt choose products from the USA.
• Contact your government officials and ask that they set safer standards for all of our food.  I personally would like to see them adopt the same standards as the European Union. 
• Ask your elected officials to adequately fund the FDA so it can maintain safe food standards.  

Ultimately the decision is up to you as always. But for my family we add the arsenic problem to the list of Why my family does not drink Juice.

this post is linked up with Pennywise Platter Thursdays, Fresh Bites Friday, Food Renegade, Fat Tuesday

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