Who is worried about the arsenic in apple juice

[brotherbigs33]

If you've actually seen or read the current reports about tests that found arsenic in apple juice, you may be wondering whether it might be dangerous to juice revellers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement trying to reassure customers that almost all of the arsenic in juices and other foods was of the supposed "organic" form, which the agency expounded was "essentially harmless." But latest scientific evidence and public information issued by other Fed agency puts doubt on that conclusion.

Worries about arsenic in juices heightened after Mehmet Oz, M.D, a heart operator and host of The Dr. Oz Show aired a piece exclaiming results of lab tests he commissioned that discovered 10 of 3 dozen apple juice samples tested contained total arsenic levels surpassing the Ten parts per bill ( ppb ) Fed. limit for total arsenic levels in public drinking h2o.

The Oz test findings are just the latest of several tests for arsenic in juice conducted over the past 3 years. As we reported previously, tests by university analysts and other laboratories say they have detected levels of total arsenic in apple juices that were up to 3 to five times higher than the 10 ppb public drinking water limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), which is a limit that the FDA imposes for bottled water. The FDA doesn't set such boundaries for arsenic in other beverages, though in a Sept. 18 letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has called on the agency to do so.

As part of our continuing series of stories about contamination of food and consumer products with lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, we are presently digging into the risks posed by nutritional exposures to arsenic and will most likely be bringing you additional information shortly on this difficulty and what you can do to scale back your risks of exposure. In the meantime, these are some facts to help cut thru bafflement about the sorts of arsenic you may be exposed to in what you eat and drink :

What exactly is arsenic?
Arsenic is a metalloid, meaning it shares properties of metals and non-metals. It can be found in rock and soil, with trace amounts in some areas and heavy concentrations in others. Remember that "naturally occurring" arsenic does not translate into "harmless." On the list of 275 unsafe substances at dangerous waste sites, the Fed Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ranks arsenic as number one, based mostly on hazards to folks living around those sites.

When arsenic leaches from such rock formations into groundwater, it can contaminate water used for drinking and irrigating crops. But arsenic has additionally been used for many business purposes. For years arsenic-containing insecticides were generally used in orchards, vineyards and cotton fields. Even though the usage of lead arsenate insecticides was banned in the U.S. In the late 1980s, arsenic remains in the soil, so past use of those insecticides can cause contamination of fruit now grown in those orchards. Concerns also have been raised about the probable continuing use of arsenical insecticides in other states, including China, which now supplies a lot of apple concentrate used in the U.S.

Arsenic also has been an ingredient in a wood preservative, chromated copper arsenate ( CCA ), used in pressure-treated lumber commonly found in outside decks or children's playground equipment. Though CCA was banned for virtually all U.S. Home use in 2003, it's still used industrially and can even make a contribution to arsenic in groundwater when recycled as mulch. Through all these routes and more, arsenic can enter the food chain.

What's the greatest difference between organic and inorganic arsenic?
Arsenic can mix with other elements to make compounds that are divided into two forms : inorganic arsenic compounds and organic arsenic compounds. When used to explain arsenic, the word "organic" has nothing do with the term that is on labeling for foods that meet USDA certified organic standards.

When arsenic ties to elements such as sulfur, oxygen and chlorine, it forms inorganic arsenic compounds. Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen and is the form found in drinking water, lead-arsenate insecticides and CCA.

Organic arsenic compounds are created when arsenic binds to molecules containing carbon. Fish can contain an organic form of arsenic called arsenobetaine, which is usually believed non toxic to humans. But far less is commonly known about the health effects in humans of other sorts of organic arsenic, and products containing them have raised enough concerns they are no longer being sold. EPA in 2006 took steps to stop the utilization of herbicides containing organic arsenic due to concern about their potential to transform into more noxious inorganic arsenic in the ground and then contaminate drinking water.

[stevo_x]

There could be rat poisin in apple juice and I'd still drink the shit outta it

[Electrical_Tech]

Not a fan of apple juice, it's OK, but my fav. is orange juice Nommy.

[acalliste]

Blech.. I can't drink apple juice or apple cider since I got sick on apple cider on a field trip when I was little.

People love to make apple cider up there too. In fact, I think I got sick on a field trip to the school farm when they were making apple cider.

[OldSchlPunk]

Red grapefruit! 'Tis the shiz!

[Electrical_Tech]

Love grapefruit!! Without sugar too

[OldSchlPunk]

Originally Posted by Electrical_Tech

Love grapefruit!! Without sugar too

We always put just a touch of salt on ours. Yum!

[Electrical_Tech]

Salt eh?

[Builtgypsy]

Fuck grapefruit! It's all about the pomelo.

[Electrical_Tech]