The FDA recently announced that the agency is going to reassess the way we monitor inorganic forms of arsenic in the food supply, in particular, apple juice– to bring it up to code with the way arsenic in the water supply is regulated– at 10 parts per billion.
The risk to inorganic arsenic consumption in apple juice is said to be low, but combined with immeasurable sources of arsenic in other areas of the food supply, it can’t be good.
Consumption of “inorganic arsenic is associated with cancer, skin lesions, developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, and diabetes”– and food is a major contributor.
The FDA reports:
Possible sources of inorganic arsenic in apple juice include processing aids, prior use of arsenic based pesticides on land currently used for apple orchards, current use of arsenic-based pesticides in other countries, naturally high levels of arsenic in soil or water, and atmospheric deposition from industrial activities[...]
In 2008, FDA established a level of concern of 23 ppb for inorganic arsenic in singlestrength (ready to drink) apple juice as part of a hazard assessment. This level of concern focused on non-cancer endpoints and average consumption of apple juice with higher levels of arsenic for a limited (not lifetime) period of time.
In 2011, FDA initiated a new quantitative risk assessment for inorganic arsenic in apple juice for cancer endpoints and based on chronic and lifetime exposure. The new risk assessment models health effects based on average inorganic arsenic levels in apple juice when several hypothetical maximum limits for inorganic arsenic are in place.
The risks to children being slowly poisoned over time should, at the very least, be greatly reduced– now that long term exposure is being assessed by the proper authorities.
But monitoring sources of inorganic arsenic in the food supply in general is a little tricky because if your water contains arsenic, and your soil contains arsenic, and your pesticides contain arsenic– your apples will eventually rise up and kill you while you sleep.
So, I fully expect that if the Republican party catches wind of this they’ll immediately call for the liquidation of the FDA– again– on the grounds that the agency is killing jobs! especially if it means one poison manufacturer is forced to use cleaner poison in the production and processing of food.
But with all their concern for keeping poor people from eating any food due to management’s cutbacks in humanity and decency– I’m not sure they’ll even notice.
There just seems to be no apple these days that the Republican party is not trying to poison.
(image via Brand X Pictures)