Consumer Reports warning about some juices

[NeverDie]

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...brands-of-fruit-juice-should-you-be-concerned

Anyone have their full report? I'd like to know which brands tested well and which didn't.

IMHO, the government should be testing for this kind of stuff, and enforcing, but AFAIK it doesn't. I'd wager that if CR had also tested for pesticide and fungicide concentrations, it would have been even more alarming.

Unfortunately, not much we as individuals can do. Personally, I do try to buy rice grown in California rather than Texas. Not sure about fruit juices. Any countries to avoid? I'm guessing China for one, but that's only a guess.

 

[jgmillr1]

These arsenic scares seem to get recycled every few years. Here is a 2016 article from a UC Davis prof that puts the 10ppb arsenic threshold in context. Basically, he says unless you are knocking back an entire bottle of wine daily containing elevated arsenic levels, you are not at risk for arsenic poisoning.

And based on the daily intake values cited in the article (0.3 micrograms arsenic per human kg per day and 18ppb max found arsenic levels in wine/juice), a 185lb individual would need to consume close to two 750ml bottles of the wine/juice every day to exceed the arsenic threshold. I'm pretty sure anyone consuming that much wine will have other problems.

 

[Blacksmith1]

The arsenic in apple juice comes from the apples, seeds mostly, I assume while being crushed. go to any horse racing track and you will find that the trainers do not allow the horses to have apples. this is because there is enough arsenic in them to "queer" (that's how they say it) the urine test at the end of a race. If one or two apples can show up in high enough concentrations in a 1000 lb animal to make it look like you are cheating a race, then pretty much any AJ into which they allow some seeds to crush/grind during their process will show varying levels of arsenic.

 

[NeverDie]

The reason why Texas rice is suspect is because it's often grown in areas that used to grow cotton, and back in the day they dusted the fields with arsenic to kill cotton parasites. Over the years, it added up, to where now the soil there is contaminated. Anyhow, a bit off topic, but I mention it because the CR article also refers to rice, and now you know why. During the last scare our local costco pulled texas rice off the shelves for a while, but it's back there again. People forget.

 

[Blacksmith1]

then why would they grow food on it?

 

[NeverDie]

Because they can. i.e. nothing is stopping them from doing so. The land owners want to make money, and apparently rice is profitable for them. They pretty much get free water because of the crazy water allocations in Texas.

 

[JimRausch]

The arsenic in apple juice comes from the apples, seeds mostly

Actually, it's cyanide in apple seeds, not arsenic. Also found in peach pits, and cherry pits. Cyanide is actually pretty common in nature. Arsenic (which is common in bedrock in certain areas of the country) would usually come from pesticides or fungicides.

 

[Blacksmith1]

My Bad. You are correct sir. The memory doesn't work as well as it used to. What really sucks is looking stuff up to prove someone wrong only to find I am that someone....

 

[JimRausch]

No problemo Blacksmith. Going by your picture we are of similar age and probably have similar 'mental blanks'. I only happen to know the cyanide thing because I'm a Vet and had two horses die suddenly from eating wilted cherry leaves- a tree branch blew down in a thunderstorm. Happened over 30 years ago, but something I'll never forget. There's not much cyanide in apple seeds but that's what gives them the bitter almond flavor.

 

[Blacksmith1]

that's too funny, I only remember the apple thing because I was a Farrier for 20 years and did some work at the tracks near where I lived.