Arsenic in apple juice.

[patriqq]

gregbathurst & Jacob_Marley -

Thank you for unveiling the REAL issue behind the arsenic/apple issue - CHINA. Its not about dirt, not about water, not about the FDA. "Somehow" the articles about the issue don't explain the root cause - CHINA. If you buy the juice listed in the original post, you are supporting Chinese farmers, and the Chinese economy. Country of origin is always printed on the bottle/concentrate-can or rarely, the label.

Here in PA, there are only a few brands that are N American:
Wegmans
365 / Whole Foods / Trader Joe's and the organic brands they sell
Cascadian Farms (the only frozen concentrate)
Anything that's obviously local

Welch's is sometimes S American.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

gregbathurst & Jacob_Marley -

Thank you for unveiling the REAL issue behind the arsenic/apple issue - CHINA. Its not about dirt, not about water, not about the FDA. "Somehow" the articles about the issue don't explain the root cause - CHINA. If you buy the juice listed in the original post, you are supporting Chinese farmers, and the Chinese economy. Country of origin is always printed on the bottle/concentrate-can or rarely, the label.

Here in PA, there are only a few brands that are N American:
Wegmans
365 / Whole Foods / Trader Joe's and the organic brands they sell
Cascadian Farms (the only frozen concentrate)
Anything that's obviously local

Welch's is sometimes S American.

You are correct that the common denominator in much of this is China.

But for our purposes, it is actually about our own Congress and the FDA.
We can not necessarily change China's behavior ... but we can change our behavior.

If the FDA is not funded sufficiently to enforce regulations and do testing, then we are going to see unacceptable toxin levels in products on store shelves.
If we do not limit the influence of lobbies and other entities which would thwart such regulation and enforcement, those tainted products will continue to be sold.

While the FDA does test for inorganic arsenic in juices, anecdotal reports seem to suggest that they are missing enough of the imported product to make their giving the "ok" not acceptably reliable.

There is no question as to issues of Chinese agricultural regulation permitting practices that we banned in this country long ago.

What products are unsafe due to melamine, lead, arsenic or any other toxic substance? ... I don't think there is any really practical way for the consumer to figure it out on their own. This is what government is for.

In the final analysis, our addiction to Chinese produced goods is directly related to our relative inability to afford those same items when produced here. Economics is big here.
No easy solutions.

Of course, if people stop buying the chinese imports in question, they will stop being carried. But again, it's economics ... that whole "paradigm" thing I mentioned in my earlier post.

 

[LeBreton]

Here in PA, there are only a few brands that are N American:
Wegmans

Wegmans apple juice concentrate and juice from concentrate comes from Argentina & Chile, not sure about the non concentrate stuff.

 

[sudsmcgee]

At least they are American (South).

 

[patriqq]

Jacob_Marley,

Very true. In my mind (only), it comes down to the following question: what is more surprising - (1) that Chinese apple juice contains arsenic and Chinese apples are often treated with arsenic-containing insecticides, or (2) that almost all of the big-brand apple juice in the US is from China? Most people I've talked to find #2 to be the surprise. #1 is not really a shocker. In other words, I suspect that most people are buying big-brand juice because they are unaware of it's origin; I suspect that sales would decline drastically if every bottle was stamped with "PRODUCT OF CHINA" in huge letters. On the other hand, if we started stamping TV boxes with "PRODUCT OF CHINA," I don't think sales would decline. <-- Humble Opinion/Viewpoint.

LeBreton,
Wegmans not-from-concentrate is US/Canada - I should have been more specific.