Does All Apple Juice Contain Arsenic?

On Aug 28, 2022

there is no arsenic :

Oysters
Mussels
Scallops
Lobster

Total arsenic levels in apple juice samples have routinely been below 10 ppb, the same allowable level in drinking water. FDA experts participate in the international standard-setting body, Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) External Link Disclaimer.

To decrease your arsenic exposure, avoid the following shellfish:

Oysters
Mussels
Scallops
Lobster

The inorganic forms of arsenic can be harmful, while the organic forms of arsenic are considered harmless. Because both forms of arsenic have been found in soil, small amounts may be found in certain food and beverage products, including apple juice and apple juice concentrates.

News Release: FDA proposes “action level” for arsenic in apple juice
Draft Guidance for Industry: Arsenic in Apple Juice: Action Level
Supporting Document for Action Level for Arsenic in Apple Juice
Quantitative Assessment of Inorganic Arsenic in Apple Juice
Peer Review Report: Risk Assessment of Arsenic in Apple Juice

What percentage of juices have arsenic?

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.

Levels in the apple juices ranged from 1.1 to 13.9 ppb, and grape-juice levels were even higher, 5.9 to 24.7 ppb. Most of the total arsenic in our samples was inorganic, our tests showed.

One in four toddlers 2 and younger and 45 percent of children ages 3 to 5 drink 7 or more ounces of juice a day. The American Academy of Pediatrics cautions that to help prevent obesity and tooth decay, children younger than 6 should drink no more than 6 ounces a day, about the size of a juice box. (Infants younger than 6 months shouldn’t drink any.) The possible presence of arsenic or lead in juices is all the more reason to stick with those nutrition-based limits.

And in 2011, working with the FDA, drug company Alpharma agreed to suspend the sale of Roxarsone, a poultry-feed additive, because it contained an organic form of arsenic that could convert into inorganic arsenic inside the bird, potentially contaminating the meat.

As for lead, about one fourth of all juice samples had levels at or above the 5-ppb limit for bottled water. The top lead level for apple juice was 13.6 ppb ; for grape juice, 15.9 ppb.

His research over the past six years has shown that U.S. rice has among the highest average inorganic arsenic levels in the world—almost three times higher than levels in Basmati rice imported from low-arsenic areas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Rice from Egypt has the lowest levels of all.

But the public’s exposure to arsenic extends beyond those areas because since 1910, the United States has used roughly 1.6 million tons of it for agricultural and other industrial uses. About half of that cumulative total has been used since only the mid-1960s. Lead-arsenate insecticides were widely used in cotton fields, orchards, and vineyards until their use was banned in the 1980s. But residues in the soil can still contaminate crops.

What is the level of arsenic in apple juice?

Based on a new quantitative risk assessment using chronic exposure (0-50 years) and cancer endpoints, as well as considerations including new data on total and inorganic arsenic levels and manufacturer achievability, FDA is setting an action level for inorganic arsenic in single-strength apple juice of 10 µg/kg or 10 ppb. The action level of 10 µg/kg or 10 ppb, based on chronic exposure, will be protective against adverse effects associated with short term exposure that were the basis for the level of concern of 23 ppb.

Arsenic is an element that occurs in the environment from both natural and anthropogenic sources including erosion of arsenic-containing rocks, volcanic eruptions, contamination from mining and smelting ores, and previous or current use of arsenic-containing pesticides (Ref. 1).

FDA considers that it is possible to further reduce public exposure to inorganic arsenic from apple juice in general, and specifically from apple juice that currently may contain inorganic arsenic at levels above 10 ppb. Therefore, FDA is issuing draft guidance on an action level for inorganic arsenic in apple juice. III.

It may be possible in some cases for manufacturers who have found inorganic arsenic in sources of apples or apple juice concentrate to reduce or limit inorganic arsenic in apple juice by choosing sources of apples or apple juice concentrate with lower inorganic arsenic levels or no detectable inorganic arsenic.

The import alert also advises FDA Districts that surveillance of heavy metal levels in fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates from all countries is warranted. In July 2011, FDA issued an import bulletin to significantly increase the number of imported juice products sampled and analyzed for arsenic under the TEP.

Inorganic arsenic, the sum of arsenite (As +3) and arsenate (As +5 ), is generally considered more toxic than organic arsenic, and some organic species in food (such as arsenobetaine, commonly found in seafood) are considered nontoxic (Ref. 3). Short-term exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic can cause gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, hematological, renal, and neurological effects in humans (Refs. 1-2). Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic has been associated with cancer, skin lesions, developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes in humans (Refs. 2-3).

FDA has concluded that it is appropriate to set an action level for inorganic arsenic because FDA sampling data show that inorganic arsenic is the main form of arsenic in apple juice and because inorganic arsenic is considered more toxic than organic arsenic.