Today on Dr. Oz they revealed that several popular brands of apple juice, including Mott’s and Gerber, contained levels of Arsenic (a toxic metal linked to cancer) exceeding the limits allowed in drinking water.
Not surprisingly, most (if not all) of the offending products contained juice or juice concentrate from countries other than the United States.
Not long ago I remember buying some apple juice on sale, only to read the label after I brought it home. Country of origin: China
No thanks…
Bottom line is that the farther away your food is coming from, the greater the risk that it contains things you don’t want to put into your body. Rules and regulations tend to be followed less strictly in other countries. Remember the toy trains and McDonald’s glasses painted with leaded (Ethyl) paint? How about the pet food tainted with melamine? All brought to you courtesy of China.
For those people that don’t drink apple juice, this isn’t much of a concern. For drinkers (especially heavy drinkers) of apple juice, US-sourced products were much less of a problem than foreign juices.
Better yet, eat the apples rather than drinking juice! I frequently see organic apples on sale at Whole Paycheck Foods for 99¢/lb.
I really have to applaud Dr. Oz for tackling this issue of food purity. He even made some calls himself (if only for dramatic effect) and got stonewalled by most of the companies he called. It even made our local news!
Organic juices are much less likely to contain unwanted contaminants, so if you are financially well-off this would be a good idea. Otherwise, stick with “Made in America” and “Made with US apples” products.
By the way, remember the saying “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Dr. Oz focused on arsenic in apple juice. Just think about what else is in our food supply! (Or, if you want to maintain your sanity, maybe you shouldn’t…)
Have something to say about this topic? Send me a comment!
Robert J. Stone
Aren’t people reading labels? Charlie Rose has had guests on that discuss the environmental topic and they all agree China has major issues that they need to address. Yesterday I read an article about DDT and other pesticides appearing in mother’s milk. I wouldn’t even buy dog food from China – remember the melamine.
Additionala: http://www.earth-policy.org/plan_b_updates/2011/update96
You know how we reduce healthcare costs? Don’t pollute the environment and contaminate the food source in the first place. I’m with Dr. Oz. This is a teachable moment. He did a good thing to get us to talk about the quality of our food, health and the environment. My guess is some corp(s) or lobbyist said we can’t have people questioning products, go get him. Dr. Oz invited the FDA, they declined. Dr. Oz asked them questions and they said file FOIA papers. The FDA appears to now be doing CYA. We also have an unfortunate situation right now where things that should not be politicized have been, and transparency, knowledge, trust, facts, and science have been eroded for political and monetary gain. The only thing about apples in general, they always appear in the most contaminated list (dirty dozen) of fruits and vegetables. Ho hum. Maybe we can address the benefits of meat and dairy consumption next
Great points dj, thanks for all the info! And unfortunately, No, people aren’t reading labels. And even when they do, the labels may not be accurate. Buyer beware.