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(Credit: Martinelli’s)
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Apple juice, the beloved childhood (and sometimes grownup) drink, is now under fire. Popular television medical expert Dr. Mehmet Oz said on “The Dr. Oz Show” that arsenic in apple juice may be putting children in danger.
His show conducted an experiment which supposedly shows that apple juice contains high levels of arsenic, especially since most of the ingredients are coming from other countries where standards are not as strict as in the U.S. “I don’t have any concerns about it in the short run,” Oz said to ABC News health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser.
“And the levels that we have detected in the samples that we have looked at are not high enough to make me concerned about short-term issues. My bigger concern is over the next decade or next generation, especially as children grow. Is it possible that because of the changes in where we’re getting our food, specifically getting our apples from overseas, we may be exposing our kids to needlessly high levels of arsenic?”
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The FDA has been swift and is assuaging the fears of parents who thought they may be poisoning their kids. “We’re concerned that people are going to start thinking their juice is unsafe when that’s not case,” said Stephanie Yao, an FDA spokeswoman, to the Washington Post. The FDA is also questioning the results of Dr. Oz’s study, saying he did not distinguish between organic and inorganic arsenic. (Only the inorganic form is poisonous.)
Gerber, which supposedly had the highest levels of arsenic in Oz’s test, issued a statement on their website. ” Our products are manufactured under highly controlled conditions, satisfying government standards for safety and wholesomeness. We assure you that all Gerber products are safe to consume,” they posted.
With this knowledge and the FDA’s statements, will you still drink apple juice?
