Arsenic and Lead Are in Your Fruit Juice: What You Need to Know

CR finds concerning levels of heavy metals in almost half of tested juices. Here’s how to protect yourself and your family.

Fruit juice’s health halo has slipped in recent years, mainly because it packs a lot of sugar and calories. But there’s another, lesser-known health risk with these juices: They may also contain potentially harmful levels of arsenic, cadmium, and lead, according to new tests from Consumer Reports.

CR tested 45 popular fruit juices sold across the country—including apple, grape, pear, and fruit blends—and found elevated levels of those elements, commonly known as heavy metals, in almost half of them, including juices marketed for children. “In some cases, drinking just 4 ounces a day—or half a cup—is enough to raise concern,” says James Dickerson, Ph.D., CR’s chief scientific officer.

Our test focused on cadmium, lead, mercury, and inorganic arsenic (the type most harmful to health) because they pose some of the greatest risks, and prior research suggests they are common in food and drink.

And Americans, especially the nation’s children, drink a lot of juice. More than 80 percent of parents of children age 3 and younger give their kids fruit juice at least sometimes, according to a recent national Consumer Reports survey of 3,002 parents. In 74 percent of those cases, kids drink juice once a day or more.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of heavy metals. “Exposure to these metals early on can affect their whole life trajectory,” says Jennifer Lowry, M.D., chairperson of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Environmental Health. “There is so much development happening in their first years of life.”

But heavy metals can harm adults, too. “Five of the juices we tested pose a risk to adults at 4 or more ounces per day, and five others pose a risk at 8 or more ounces,” Dickerson says.

The chart below shows the juices we tested and the daily serving sizes that pose potential health risks for adults and children. Here, we look into why heavy metals are dangerous, why so many products have high levels, what manufacturers are doing to lower those levels, and how parents can protect their children—and themselves.

How Heavy Metals Can Harm

The harmful effects of heavy metals are well-documented. Depending on how long children are exposed to these toxins and how much they are exposed to, they may be at risk for lowered IQ, behavioral problems (such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), type 2 diabetes, and cancer, among other health issues.

Though the risks of heavy metals from any one source may be low, when people are exposed to even small amounts from multiple sources, over time the danger multiplies.

And such exposure is common. Previous tests from CR and others have found elevated levels of heavy metals not just in juices but also in infant and toddler foods, rice and rice products, protein powder, some types of fish, and sweet potatoes. The toxins may also be in the environment, including the water, the air, and the soil.

“In the course of a lifetime, the average person will come into contact with these metals many times, from many sources,” says Tunde Akinleye, a chemist in Consumer Reports’ Food Safety division who led our testing. “We’re exposed to these metals so frequently during our lives that it’s vital to limit exposures early on.”

Heavy metals may be less risky to adults, but exposure can still lead to health problems. Over many years, even modest amounts of heavy metals may raise the risk of bladder, lung, and skin cancer; cognitive and reproductive problems; and type 2 diabetes, among other conditions.

And arsenic, cadmium, and lead each pose their own set of potential harms. Lead, for example, is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and fertility problems. Arsenic is linked to cardiovascular disease. And long-term cadmium exposure increases the risk of bone damage and kidney disease, among other issues.

Still, Dickerson says it’s never too late to change dietary habits even if you, or your children, have been drinking juices higher in heavy metals. “The risk comes from chronic exposure,” he says. “Minimizing consumption of juices and other foods that have heavy metals can reduce the chance of negative outcomes in the future.”

Full article: Consumer Reports

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