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If you've actually seen or read the most recent reports about tests that found arsenic in apple juice, you could be wondering whether it might be perilous to juice revellers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement trying to reassure customers that most of the arsenic in juices and other foods was of the supposed "organic" form, that the agency said was "essentially harmless." But recent scientific proof and public info issued by another Fed. agency cast doubt on that allegation.
Worries about arsenic in juices increased after Mehmet Oz, M.D, a heart surgeon and host of The Dr. Oz Show aired a slice saying findings of lab tests he commissioned that found 10 of three dozen apple juice samples tested had total arsenic levels surpassing the Ten parts per bill ( ppb ) Fed limit for total arsenic levels in public drinking h2o.
The Oz test findings are just the most recent of one or two tests for arsenic in juice conducted over the last 3 years. As we reported formerly, tests by college researchers and other labs say they have detected levels of total arsenic in apple juices that were up to 3 to 5 times higher than the Ten ppb public drinking water limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), which is a limit the FDA imposes for bottled water. The FDA does not set such boundaries for arsenic in other drinks, though in a Sept. Eighteen letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has called on the agency to do so.
As an element of our continuing series of stories about contamination of food and consumer goods with lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, we are at present investigating the hazards posed by dietary exposures to arsenic and will most likely be bringing you more information shortly on this difficulty and what you can do to scale back your risks of exposure. Meanwhile, here are some facts to help cut through perplexity about the kinds of arsenic you could be exposed to in what you drink and eat :
What exactly is arsenic?
Arsenic is a metalloid, meaning it shares properties of metals and non-metals. It can be found in rock and soil, with trace amounts in some areas and heavy concentrations in others. Bear in mind that "naturally occurring" arsenic doesn't translate to "harmless." On the list of 275 hazardous substances at noxious waste sites, the Fed Agency for Toxic Substances and Illness Registry ranks arsenic as number one, primarily based on risks to people living around those sites.
When arsenic leaches from such rock formations into groundwater, it can contaminate water utilized for drinking and irrigating crops. But arsenic in addition has been utilized for many commercial uses. For decades arsenic-containing insecticides were commonly used in orchards, vineyards and cotton fields. Although the use of lead arsenate insecticides was banned in the U.S. In the late 1980s, arsenic remains in the soil, so past use of those insecticides can lead to contamination of fruit now grown in those orchards. Concerns also have been raised about the likely continuing use of arsenical pesticides in other countries, including China, which now supplies a lot of apple concentrate employed in the U.S.
Arsenic also has been an ingredient in a wood preservative, chromated copper arsenate ( CCA ), utilized in pressure-treated lumber ordinarily found in out of doors decks or children's playground gear. Though CCA was banned for just about all U.S. Residential use in 2003, it's still used industrially and can even make a contribution to arsenic in groundwater when recycled as mulch. Through all these routes and more, arsenic can enter the food chain.
What's the greatest difference between organic and inorganic arsenic?
Arsenic can combine with other elements to form compounds that are divided into 2 forms : inorganic arsenic compounds and organic arsenic compounds. When used to describe arsenic, the word "organic" has nothing do with the term that pops up on labeling for foods that meet USDA certified organic standards.
When arsenic binds to elements such as sulfur, oxygen and chlorine, it forms inorganic arsenic compounds. Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen and is the form found in drinking water, lead-arsenate insecticides and CCA.
Organic arsenic compounds are created when arsenic ties to molecules containing carbon. Fish can contain an organic sort of arsenic called arsenobetaine, which is generally believed non-harmful to humans. But far less is understood about the health effects in humans of other kinds of organic arsenic, and products containing them have raised enough concerns that they are no longer being sold. EPA in 2006 took steps to stop the use of herbicides containing organic arsenic because of concern about their potential to transform into more noxious inorganic arsenic in soil and then contaminate drinking water.
Worries about arsenic in juices increased after Mehmet Oz, M.D, a heart surgeon and host of The Dr. Oz Show aired a slice saying findings of lab tests he commissioned that found 10 of three dozen apple juice samples tested had total arsenic levels surpassing the Ten parts per bill ( ppb ) Fed limit for total arsenic levels in public drinking h2o.
The Oz test findings are just the most recent of one or two tests for arsenic in juice conducted over the last 3 years. As we reported formerly, tests by college researchers and other labs say they have detected levels of total arsenic in apple juices that were up to 3 to 5 times higher than the Ten ppb public drinking water limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), which is a limit the FDA imposes for bottled water. The FDA does not set such boundaries for arsenic in other drinks, though in a Sept. Eighteen letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has called on the agency to do so.
As an element of our continuing series of stories about contamination of food and consumer goods with lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, we are at present investigating the hazards posed by dietary exposures to arsenic and will most likely be bringing you more information shortly on this difficulty and what you can do to scale back your risks of exposure. Meanwhile, here are some facts to help cut through perplexity about the kinds of arsenic you could be exposed to in what you drink and eat :
What exactly is arsenic?
Arsenic is a metalloid, meaning it shares properties of metals and non-metals. It can be found in rock and soil, with trace amounts in some areas and heavy concentrations in others. Bear in mind that "naturally occurring" arsenic doesn't translate to "harmless." On the list of 275 hazardous substances at noxious waste sites, the Fed Agency for Toxic Substances and Illness Registry ranks arsenic as number one, primarily based on risks to people living around those sites.
When arsenic leaches from such rock formations into groundwater, it can contaminate water utilized for drinking and irrigating crops. But arsenic in addition has been utilized for many commercial uses. For decades arsenic-containing insecticides were commonly used in orchards, vineyards and cotton fields. Although the use of lead arsenate insecticides was banned in the U.S. In the late 1980s, arsenic remains in the soil, so past use of those insecticides can lead to contamination of fruit now grown in those orchards. Concerns also have been raised about the likely continuing use of arsenical pesticides in other countries, including China, which now supplies a lot of apple concentrate employed in the U.S.
Arsenic also has been an ingredient in a wood preservative, chromated copper arsenate ( CCA ), utilized in pressure-treated lumber ordinarily found in out of doors decks or children's playground gear. Though CCA was banned for just about all U.S. Residential use in 2003, it's still used industrially and can even make a contribution to arsenic in groundwater when recycled as mulch. Through all these routes and more, arsenic can enter the food chain.
What's the greatest difference between organic and inorganic arsenic?
Arsenic can combine with other elements to form compounds that are divided into 2 forms : inorganic arsenic compounds and organic arsenic compounds. When used to describe arsenic, the word "organic" has nothing do with the term that pops up on labeling for foods that meet USDA certified organic standards.
When arsenic binds to elements such as sulfur, oxygen and chlorine, it forms inorganic arsenic compounds. Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen and is the form found in drinking water, lead-arsenate insecticides and CCA.
Organic arsenic compounds are created when arsenic ties to molecules containing carbon. Fish can contain an organic sort of arsenic called arsenobetaine, which is generally believed non-harmful to humans. But far less is understood about the health effects in humans of other kinds of organic arsenic, and products containing them have raised enough concerns that they are no longer being sold. EPA in 2006 took steps to stop the use of herbicides containing organic arsenic because of concern about their potential to transform into more noxious inorganic arsenic in soil and then contaminate drinking water.
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