Arsenic in Kids' Juice Boxes - Apple & Eve, Motts, Welch's

[Anonymous]

These were apple and grape juice samples from NJ/NY/CT. Consumer Reports did the study.

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/arsenic-in-juice?page=3

[Anonymous]

A quick summary (since the article is quite long):

* Roughly 10 percent of our juice samples, from five brands, had total arsenic levels that exceeded federal drinking-water standards. Most of that arsenic was inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen.

* One in four samples had lead levels higher than the FDA’s bottled-water limit of 5 ppb. As with arsenic, no federal limit exists for lead in juice.

* Apple and grape juice constitute a significant source of dietary exposure to arsenic, according to our analysis of federal health data from 2003 through 2008.

* Children drink a lot of juice. Thirty-five percent of children 5 and younger drink juice in quantities exceeding pediatricians’ recommendations, our poll of parents shows.

* Mounting scientific evidence suggests that chronic exposure to arsenic and lead even at levels below water standards can result in serious health problems.

* Inorganic arsenic has been detected at disturbing levels in other foods, too, which suggests that more must be done to reduce overall dietary exposure.

[Anonymous]

Where are all the moms who screamed at me the other day when I said store bought juice is full of crap.

You ladies said you trusted the labels that read "100% juice"... Now what?

[Anonymous]

I've posted on threads before about not encouraging my DD to drink juice and have gotten completely flamed for it.

Sorry, but I'll stick with giving DD an organic, pesticide-free apple versus an arsenic laced Mott's juice box.

For all the flamers who said 'Ugh, grow up! Juice isn't poison!!!'. Well, yeah, there you have it.

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad we waited to start juice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've posted on threads before about not encouraging my DD to drink juice and have gotten completely flamed for it.

Sorry, but I'll stick with giving DD an organic, pesticide-free apple versus an arsenic laced Mott's juice box.

For all the flamers who said 'Ugh, grow up! Juice isn't poison!!!'. Well, yeah, there you have it.

I was one of the "juice isn't poison" posters. We don't do much of it, and we squeeze our own juice when we do. So yeah, still not poison. But thanks for your weird happiness at the thought that I might have been poisoning my kids. That's really nice.

[Anonymous]

Wow, scary! And stupid me, I had no idea that most concentrate came from China. Gheez, what should we give the boy (he's 12) to drink?

[Anonymous]

I am certainly not an anti juice, anti treats person, and we eat our fair share of McDonalds. However, I always read the labels and avoid food that come from China.

Those particular apple juices import apples from China. A family member travels there regularly, and says that the areas visited have destroyed their ecosystems.

Based on that person's experience and annecdotes, I absolutely avoid any food products from China.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm so glad we waited to start juice.

Ditto. People are surprised that DC (almost 14 mo) has never had juice. He loves water, so why would I give him empty calories + sugar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am certainly not an anti juice, anti treats person, and we eat our fair share of McDonalds. However, I always read the labels and avoid food that come from China.

Those particular apple juices import apples from China. A family member travels there regularly, and says that the areas visited have destroyed their ecosystems.

Based on that person's experience and annecdotes, I absolutely avoid any food products from China.

I don't think these juices say "made in China" - do they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've posted on threads before about not encouraging my DD to drink juice and have gotten completely flamed for it.

Sorry, but I'll stick with giving DD an organic, pesticide-free apple versus an arsenic laced Mott's juice box.

For all the flamers who said 'Ugh, grow up! Juice isn't poison!!!'. Well, yeah, there you have it.

I was one of the "juice isn't poison" posters. We don't do much of it, and we squeeze our own juice when we do. So yeah, still not poison. But thanks for your weird happiness at the thought that I might have been poisoning my kids. That's really nice.

I think you're quoting the wrong poster. Nobody here is happy because people might have been poisoning their kids.

[Anonymous]

I am quesstioning "organic" too... just bought a case from Costco. Now I am wondering about orange juice...

[Anonymous]

What I gathered from the Consumer Reports spreadsheet was:

a) there tends to be lower levels of arsenic in the larger bottles of apple juice vs. the juice boxes

b) Mott's and Juicy Juice 64 oz bottles seemed to have relatively low levels of arsenic, at least well below the 10 ppb that is standard for bottles of water. Tropicana appeared to be the lowest levels.

I do buy the Walmart brand occasionally, if we happen to be there, so I was disappointed to see that it had relatively high levels of the arsenic. I buy the Wegman's brand 100% juice but it wasn't on the list; I suppose too regional.

Ugh. Couldn't they easily remedy this by just removing the seeds rather than crushing them with the apples?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've posted on threads before about not encouraging my DD to drink juice and have gotten completely flamed for it.

Sorry, but I'll stick with giving DD an organic, pesticide-free apple versus an arsenic laced Mott's juice box.

For all the flamers who said 'Ugh, grow up! Juice isn't poison!!!'. Well, yeah, there you have it.

I was one of the "juice isn't poison" posters. We don't do much of it, and we squeeze our own juice when we do. So yeah, still not poison. But thanks for your weird happiness at the thought that I might have been poisoning my kids. That's really nice.

I'm the poster you quoted. Where do you see 'weird happiness' in my post? Actually this report about the arsenic makes me pretty angry, even though I do try to avoid juice for my own DD. Whether or not parents allow juice, they should at least not have to worry about there being poison in that juice. It seems pretty unacceptable to me.

[Anonymous]

I've posted on threads before about not encouraging my DD to drink juice and have gotten completely flamed for it.

Sorry, but I'll stick with giving DD an organic, pesticide-free apple versus an arsenic laced Mott's juice box.

For all the flamers who said 'Ugh, grow up! Juice isn't poison!!!'. Well, yeah, there you have it.

You're being kind of disingenuous, though. Juice itself doesn't inherently contain arsenic (after all, there are "organic, pesticide free" juices, too). I certainly wouldn't flame you for not giving your kid juice, but it sounds like you're being unwarrantedly self-righteous about it.