FDA has proposed a limit of 100 ppb of inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal. The cereals that had been tested (400) were all within this limit.
The FDA found that inorganic arsenic exposure in infants and pregnant women can result in a child’s decreased performance on certain developmental tests that measure learning, based on epidemiological evidence including dietary exposures.
FDA Press Release
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm493740.htm
FDA proposes limit for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal
Agency releases new data and scientific assessment on arsenic in rice, provides advice for pregnant women and infants
For Immediate Release
April 1, 2016
Showing posts with label arsenic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arsenic. Show all posts
Friday, April 1, 2016
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Arsenic in Wine - Is It Worth the Worry?
A guy who owns a testing laboratory is filing a lawsuit against wine makers, claiming that the wine has too much arsenic. He tested over 1300 bottles of wine and found that 80ish had levels up to 50 ppb (parts per billion).
Should one worry? Of course the mass media would have you worry (CBS News Report).
EPA has set a level of 10ppb in drinking water. And that level is based on drinking 2 L of water per day. Certainly if you are drinking 2 L of wine per day everyday, your liver has bigger issues from the alcohol.
FDA has proposed a limit of 10 ppb for fruit juice, and although that is low, it was done considering that children are the top juice drinkers. But I don't see a lot of children drinking wine.
The EU has a limit of 200 ppb of arsenic, and the Canadians have a limit of 100ppb. So all of these wines would be safe for sale in Europe and Canada.
Arsenic is naturally found in nature, and can be found in many foods in low levels.
Arsenic is naturally found in nature, and can be found in many foods in low levels.
On topics such as this, we like to say that if you are still concerned from the risk, don't drink wine....the more for the rest of us (of course, always consumed in a responsible way).
NPR - The Salt
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/03/25/395091550/arsenic-in-california-wines-should-drinkers-be-concerned
Arsenic In California Wines: Should Drinkers Be Concerned?
MARCH 25, 2015 4:12 PM ET
ALLISON AUBRE
There's been a lot of buzz around the story that some inexpensive California wines, including a Charles Shaw (aka two-buck Chuck) white Zinfandel sold at Trader Joe's, have been found to contain traces of arsenic.
The wines were tested by a commercial laboratory called BeverageGrades. And alawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against a group of wine producers claims two other labs confirmed tests that found arsenic levels in some wines exceeded what is allowed in drinking water.
With headlines like "Very High Levels of Arsenic" In Top-Selling Wines (from CBS's website), it's not a surprise that some wine drinkers are mystified. Since more than a few burning questions crossed our minds here at The Salt, we went looking for answers.
How does arsenic end up in food and wine?
Arsenic In California Wines: Should Drinkers Be Concerned?
MARCH 25, 2015 4:12 PM ET
ALLISON AUBRE
There's been a lot of buzz around the story that some inexpensive California wines, including a Charles Shaw (aka two-buck Chuck) white Zinfandel sold at Trader Joe's, have been found to contain traces of arsenic.
The wines were tested by a commercial laboratory called BeverageGrades. And alawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against a group of wine producers claims two other labs confirmed tests that found arsenic levels in some wines exceeded what is allowed in drinking water.
With headlines like "Very High Levels of Arsenic" In Top-Selling Wines (from CBS's website), it's not a surprise that some wine drinkers are mystified. Since more than a few burning questions crossed our minds here at The Salt, we went looking for answers.
How does arsenic end up in food and wine?
Monday, July 15, 2013
FDA Proposes Action Level for Arsenic in Apple Juice
FDA proposed a limit of 10ppb for inorganic arsenic in apple juice. This is the same level that is in place for drinking water.
This issue garnered attention when that crusader for scaring the heck out of people in the name of public health, Dr. Oz, put a beat down on apple juice claiming that samples had high levels of aresenic. However, FDA countered with scientific facts - that they had monitored juice samples for years and had not found such levels AND the methodology used by the Oz quoted study looked at total arsenic and not inorganic aresenic, the harmful form.
If anything, it shows how mass-media-generated misinfomation can be used to force regulation.
FDA NEWS RELEASE
FDA proposes “action level” for arsenic in apple juice
For Immediate Release: July 12, 2013
Media Inquiries: Theresa Eisenman, 301-796-2805, theresa.eisenman@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDAhttp://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm360466.htm
Agency testing and analysis confirm overall safety of apple juice
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed an “action level” of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in apple juice. This is the same level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for arsenic in drinking water.
“The FDA is committed to ensuring the safety of the American food supply and to doing what is necessary to protect public health,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “We have been studying this issue comprehensively, and based on the agency’s data and analytical work, the FDA is confident in the overall safety of apple juice for children and adults.”
“While the levels of arsenic in apple juice are very low, the FDA is proposing an action level to help prevent public exposure to the occasional lots of apple juice with arsenic levels above those permitted in drinking water,” said Michael R. Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.
The FDA is establishing this threshold to provide guidance to industry. The agency takes the action level into account when considering an enforcement action, if it finds a food product exceeds the threshold.
The FDA has been monitoring the presence of arsenic in apple juice for the past 20 years and has consistently found that samples contain levels of arsenic that are low, with few exceptions. New tools, however, have allowed the agency to better understand the breakdown between organic and inorganic arsenic levels. Last year the FDA released findings from its latest data collection and analysis of 94 samples of arsenic in apple juice. The analysis showed that 95 percent of the apple juice samples tested were below 10 ppb total arsenic; 100 percent of the samples were below 10 ppb for inorganic arsenic, the carcinogenic form of arsenic.
The proposed level of 10 ppb takes into account this sampling data plus a recently completed, peer-reviewed risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in apple juice conducted by FDA scientists. The assessment is based on lifetime exposure.
Inorganic arsenic may be found in foods because it is present in the environment, both as a naturally occurring mineral and because of activity such as past use of arsenic-containing pesticides. A known carcinogen, inorganic arsenic also has been associated with skin lesions, developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, and diabetes.
In conducting its new assessment on apple juice, the FDA was able to use data from two studies published in 2010, as well as a 2011 evaluation by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants of the Food and Agriculture Organization, part of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
The agency will accept public comments on the proposed action level and the risk assessment for 60 days.
It's Dr. Oz versus the FDA on apple juice and arsenic
September 16, 2011|By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/16/news/la-heb-apples-arsenic-oz-20110916
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but apple juice? That's asking for trouble.
Witness the white-hot flames of controversy this week over Dr. Mehmet Oz's claims that apple juice contains unhealthful levels of arsenic. Here's the background in a nutshell: On his syndicated television show, Oz made the claims about apple juice containing arsenic, which prompted the Food and Drug Administration and others to fire back, saying that Oz's claims were unfounded and that the juice was safe to drink.
This issue garnered attention when that crusader for scaring the heck out of people in the name of public health, Dr. Oz, put a beat down on apple juice claiming that samples had high levels of aresenic. However, FDA countered with scientific facts - that they had monitored juice samples for years and had not found such levels AND the methodology used by the Oz quoted study looked at total arsenic and not inorganic aresenic, the harmful form.
If anything, it shows how mass-media-generated misinfomation can be used to force regulation.
FDA NEWS RELEASE
FDA proposes “action level” for arsenic in apple juice
For Immediate Release: July 12, 2013
Media Inquiries: Theresa Eisenman, 301-796-2805, theresa.eisenman@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDAhttp://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm360466.htm
Agency testing and analysis confirm overall safety of apple juice
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed an “action level” of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in apple juice. This is the same level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for arsenic in drinking water.
“The FDA is committed to ensuring the safety of the American food supply and to doing what is necessary to protect public health,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “We have been studying this issue comprehensively, and based on the agency’s data and analytical work, the FDA is confident in the overall safety of apple juice for children and adults.”
“While the levels of arsenic in apple juice are very low, the FDA is proposing an action level to help prevent public exposure to the occasional lots of apple juice with arsenic levels above those permitted in drinking water,” said Michael R. Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.
The FDA is establishing this threshold to provide guidance to industry. The agency takes the action level into account when considering an enforcement action, if it finds a food product exceeds the threshold.
The FDA has been monitoring the presence of arsenic in apple juice for the past 20 years and has consistently found that samples contain levels of arsenic that are low, with few exceptions. New tools, however, have allowed the agency to better understand the breakdown between organic and inorganic arsenic levels. Last year the FDA released findings from its latest data collection and analysis of 94 samples of arsenic in apple juice. The analysis showed that 95 percent of the apple juice samples tested were below 10 ppb total arsenic; 100 percent of the samples were below 10 ppb for inorganic arsenic, the carcinogenic form of arsenic.
The proposed level of 10 ppb takes into account this sampling data plus a recently completed, peer-reviewed risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in apple juice conducted by FDA scientists. The assessment is based on lifetime exposure.
Inorganic arsenic may be found in foods because it is present in the environment, both as a naturally occurring mineral and because of activity such as past use of arsenic-containing pesticides. A known carcinogen, inorganic arsenic also has been associated with skin lesions, developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, and diabetes.
In conducting its new assessment on apple juice, the FDA was able to use data from two studies published in 2010, as well as a 2011 evaluation by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants of the Food and Agriculture Organization, part of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
The agency will accept public comments on the proposed action level and the risk assessment for 60 days.
It's Dr. Oz versus the FDA on apple juice and arsenic
September 16, 2011|By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/16/news/la-heb-apples-arsenic-oz-20110916
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but apple juice? That's asking for trouble.
Witness the white-hot flames of controversy this week over Dr. Mehmet Oz's claims that apple juice contains unhealthful levels of arsenic. Here's the background in a nutshell: On his syndicated television show, Oz made the claims about apple juice containing arsenic, which prompted the Food and Drug Administration and others to fire back, saying that Oz's claims were unfounded and that the juice was safe to drink.
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