By now, you’re used to news about arsenic in your food—first, it cropped up in your rice, then in baby formula and cereal bars, then in your nonorganic chicken.
So you’re probably not surprised to hear that it’s also in your fruit
juice. Recently, the FDA proposed an “action level”, or an acceptable
amount allowed, of arsenic in apple juice, which was previously
unregulated. They set the level at 10 parts per billion (ppb), which is
the same standard set for drinking water.
We know, we know: that doesn’t exactly sound comforting. Arsenic-riddled food conjures images of mini IEDs detonating in your body every time you swallow a sushi roll or swig some apple juice. What is arsenic doing in our food in the first place? And is it really a big deal?
According to the FDA, arsenic is everywhere. It occurs naturally in places like rocks and volcanoes, and it’s also widespread as a fertilizer ingredient. That’s one of the ways it ends up in our food: crops soak up arsenic from soil and groundwater. (Rice is especially vulnerable, since it slurps up and retains arsenic more freely than other grains.)
To further complicate matters, all arsenic is not created equal. Inorganic arsenic is the scary kind, a known carcinogen associated with cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, diabetes, and developmental disorders. (That’s the one the new FDA level restricts.) The other kind, organic arsenic, is thought to be harmless.
Should you be worried? The FDA is studying the short and long-term effects of arsenic in our diets, but for now, they’re unconvinced that current levels of dietary arsenic are a health threat. And as for apple juice, the FDA stated that arsenic levels aren’t excessive even without the action level. Last year, the FDA studied 94 samples of apple juice and found that 95% of them had arsenic levels below 10 ppb in total arsenic, and all of the samples were below 10 ppb for inorganic arsenic, the carcinogenic kind.
But if you still want to go on an anti-arsenic detox, we don’t blame you. Limit your rice consumption, advises the Environmental Working Group (EWG), including rice-based milks and sweeteners. When you eat brown rice, boil it first in hot water to slash arsenic levels by up to 40%. And check out the EWG’s Tap Water Database to see if water in your area is arsenic-heavy.
We know, we know: that doesn’t exactly sound comforting. Arsenic-riddled food conjures images of mini IEDs detonating in your body every time you swallow a sushi roll or swig some apple juice. What is arsenic doing in our food in the first place? And is it really a big deal?
According to the FDA, arsenic is everywhere. It occurs naturally in places like rocks and volcanoes, and it’s also widespread as a fertilizer ingredient. That’s one of the ways it ends up in our food: crops soak up arsenic from soil and groundwater. (Rice is especially vulnerable, since it slurps up and retains arsenic more freely than other grains.)
To further complicate matters, all arsenic is not created equal. Inorganic arsenic is the scary kind, a known carcinogen associated with cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, diabetes, and developmental disorders. (That’s the one the new FDA level restricts.) The other kind, organic arsenic, is thought to be harmless.
Should you be worried? The FDA is studying the short and long-term effects of arsenic in our diets, but for now, they’re unconvinced that current levels of dietary arsenic are a health threat. And as for apple juice, the FDA stated that arsenic levels aren’t excessive even without the action level. Last year, the FDA studied 94 samples of apple juice and found that 95% of them had arsenic levels below 10 ppb in total arsenic, and all of the samples were below 10 ppb for inorganic arsenic, the carcinogenic kind.
But if you still want to go on an anti-arsenic detox, we don’t blame you. Limit your rice consumption, advises the Environmental Working Group (EWG), including rice-based milks and sweeteners. When you eat brown rice, boil it first in hot water to slash arsenic levels by up to 40%. And check out the EWG’s Tap Water Database to see if water in your area is arsenic-heavy.
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