Cranbury Forum | Bulletin | Info Sharing :: Topic review - High levels of Arsenic in Motts Apple Juice

foxymoxy

I thought that arsenic was a trace mineral.
You know....................like lead!

Cranbury Mom

Thanks for the follow-up. However, the consumer group tested the actual juice that Motts sends to our supermarket. Even though the FDA and the State Dept of Agriculture tested the actual US and China Concentrate and found no arsenic at all - I wonder then, where the arsenic is coming from? Is it the packaging, cleaning process of the bottles, or is it in the water that is added to make the juice?

Another Mom

According to Gannett News, follow up testing found no arsenic (the testing referred to above was by a citizen's group):

Mott's plant owner says testing shows no arsenic in apple products
11:52 AM, Aug. 3, 2011

Follow-up testing of apple concentrate from both United States and Chinese sources at a Mott’s plant in Wayne County found no arsenic, according to the apple processing plant’s parent company.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration “concluded their inspection, confirming what we have always maintained — that our products are safe,” said Chris Barnes, a spokesman for Dr. Pepper Snapple Group.

Concerns had been raised in July by the Rochester-based Empire State Consumer Project, which had done independent testing of several bottled juices and found a Mott’s product contained 55 parts per billion of arsenic.

There is no federal standard for arsenic in apple juice, but the limit for arsenic in drinking water is 10 ppb.

The consumer group’s report prompted the FDA and state Department of Agriculture and Markets to inspect the plant in Williamson and take samples.

According to Michael Moran, a spokesman for the state agency, state tests found no arsenic at all in concentrate from the United States and concentrate brought in from China.

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http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110803/BUSINESS/110803018/Mott-s-plant-owner-says-testing-shows-no-arsenic-apple-products?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CBusiness

Cranbury Mom

FDA Tests Mott’s Plant after Groups Discover High Arsenic Levels in Juice

Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--August 2, 2011. Under pressure from lab results showing arsenic in apple juice, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and New York state officials inspected a Williamstown, NY Mott’s apple products plant for the toxic metal on July 26, 2011. While the lab tests commissioned by the Rochester-based Empire State Consumer Project examined several brands of apple juice and apple sauce, Mott’s Apple Juice stood out, with one sample registering 55 parts per billion of arsenic, five times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) legal limit (tolerance level) for drinking water. While no longer used in U.S. orchards, arsenic-based pesticides are still used on food crops in some countries, including China.

“This is not the first time high levels of arsenic have been found in apple juice,” said Judy Braiman, executive director of the Empire State Consumer Project. “It is past time for the FDA to set a limit on a toxic substance like arsenic with long term health effects in the juice that kids drink.”

Two-thirds of apple juice that Americans consume —more than 400 million gallons annually— comes from China. The Empire State Consumer Project and Food & Water Watch sent a letter to FDA calling on the agency to take long overdue action on contamination of apple juice with heavy metals such as arsenic. Currently, there is no legal limit for arsenic in juice. To protect your family from contaminated apple juice, Beyond Pesticides recommends organic apple products.

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http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/health-and-fitness/25792-fda-tests-motts-plant-after-groups-discover-high-arsenic-levels-in-juice.html