Whether you're a fan of coffee,
diet soda, bottled water, or herbal tea, you probably assume that your favorite
drinks aren't putting you in harm's way. This sense of security is primarily
afforded to us by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which protects
people from unsafe consumption by regulating food and beverages distributed in
the country, among other things. While we're all aware that certain beverages
may cause long-term health risks, the FDA has issued a new warning about a
popular drink you've likely never given a lot of thought to. Read on to find
out what the agency is alerting consumers to now.
The FDA has been working to reduce exposure to dangerous elements
in foods and drinks.
In 2021, the FDA established its "Closer to Zero" action
plan, an initiative for the agency to further regulate things like beverages to
lower dietary exposure to toxic elements and "reduce the potential for
negative health effects" for consumers. The targeted factors include
arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.
The FDA said, "Reducing levels of toxic elements in foods is
complicated and multifaceted." "It is crucial to ensure that measures
taken to limit arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury in foods does not have
unintended consequences—like eliminating from the marketplace foods that have
significant nutritional benefits or reducing the presence of one element while
increasing another."
And now, the agency is warning consumers about one popular
beverage.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new alert on April
27 regarding the risk of high lead exposure in apple juice and other juices.
The EPA has updated its warning to say that reducing juice intake will
"lower potential exposure to lead."
According to the FDA, lead cannot be entirely removed from the
food supply since it "is present in the environment as a naturally
occurring element and consumer and industrial products and processes."
However, consuming or being exposed to too much lead can have serious
consequences, which is why the FDA carefully monitors and regulates lead levels
in foods, supplements, and cosmetics.
According to the agency, lead can accumulate in the body, so
high-level exposure and chronic exposure can harm you over time. According to
the FDA, chronic lead exposure in adults is linked to kidney dysfunction,
hypertension, and neurocognitive effects.
The FDA is proposing new lead level limits for juices.
The FDA noted that it just issued new draft action levels for lead
in single-strength (or 100 percent) apple juice and other single-strength
juices and juice blends with this alert. The agency is proposing establishing
industry-wide limits of "10 parts per billion (ppb) for lead in
single-strength apple juice and 20 ppb for lead in all other single-strength
juice types, including juice blends that contain apple juice," according
to the Federal Register.
FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, MD, said in a statement that
"this action to limit lead in juice represents an important step forward
in advancing FDA's Closer to Zero action plan, which we are confident will have
a lasting public health impact on current and future generations," adding
that "the action levels recommended in the draft guidance document will
help limit consumer exposure."
High levels of lead in juices may disproportionately affect
children.
The emphasis in the FDA's proposed guidance is on how lead in
juice most negatively affects children. "Exposure of our most vulnerable
populations, especially children, to elevated levels of toxic elements from
foods is unacceptable," Califf said.
The FDA also noted a "lower draft action level for apple
juice because it is the most commonly consumed juice that young children
drink." According to the FDA, the proposed changes might lead to a 46
percent reduction in lead exposure from apple juice in children and a 19
percent reduction in lead exposure from all other juices.
According to the FDA, it is already recommended that parents follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This guidance recommends limiting juice intake for children, advising that children "get at least half of their fruit needs each day from whole fruit rather than juice and that children under 12 months of age should not consume juice."
