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Dr. Oz Finds High Levels of Arsensic in Non-Organic Apple Juice, Takes on ABC News Medical Expert
I cannot tell you how it good it makes me feel to know that Dr. Mehmet Oz, a very influential voice in the medical world, is tackling the dangers that lurk in our food supply and raising awareness about this very serious issue.
Recently, Dr. Oz heard about high levels of arsenic in apple juice and decided to perform his own independent testing on 5 major brands.
What is important to note here is that the EPA has a legally allowable limit of arsenic in drinking water, 10 parts per billion, while there is no arsenic limit for apple juice.
The following are the results of Dr. Oz’s testing and of these, 10 samples came back higher than the arsenic limit allowed in drinking water.
Minute Maid Apple Juice
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 2 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion
Apple and Eve Apple Juice
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 11 parts per billion
Mott’s
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 4 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 16 parts per billion
Juicy Juice
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 2 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 22 parts per billion
Gerber
Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion
Highest Sample for Arsenic: 36 parts per billion
Note: Lab results standard deviation is +/- 20%
As soon as Dr. Oz went public with his results, he got criticized for conducting testing at only one laboratory and disseminating inaccurate information.
ABC News Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser, who is furious about these findings in the video below, ignores the fact that Dr. Oz’s results were done by a state-of-the-art laboratory and were corroborated by two other independent reports, one from the Food & Water Watch and the other from the St. Petersburg Times.
What is even more laughable is that Dr. Oz is accused of “fear-mongering” by Dr. Richard Besser, his former medical school classmate.
This “fear-mongering” card is so easy to pull out whenever the status quo is challenged and conventional food companies are put on the defensive.
Just remember one thing. Dr. Richard Besser works for ABC News.
And who buys a TON of advertising on ABC? Traditional food companies.
Dr. Richard Besser has an agenda and is by no means objective or independent. He has serious financial interests to protect.
MY TAKE
I am very excited about this news for several reasons.
1) We have someone with a massive reach and tremendous influence warning people about the safety of our food supply.
As I wrote about the other day, we use 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides per year, 80% of which is for the agricultural sector.
These are synthetic, toxic pesticides and yet we hear over and over again that they safe and do not pose any health risks at low levels.
This is a claim that I just do not buy, especially when people are exposed to these chemicals over a long period of time.
All of this begs the question – why should there be ANY arsenic in there in the first place?
Answer: There shouldn’t be, and the EPA/FDA/USDA need to have much tighter rules, enforcement and monitoring.
2) This is just another reason for parents to be buying their kids organic.
Organic has standards and enforcement, and does not allow synthetic pesticides to be sprayed on its products.
You don’t have that protection with “natural” or any other conventional product.
If you are concerned about quality and keeping pesticides out of your food, organic is the clear option.
3) The bottom line is that the truth makes people very uncomfortable.
With the class action lawsuits against Kashi and Wesson Oils and now this report by Dr. Oz, we are seeing more and more that people are tired of food safety being neglected.
We need to end:
– Synthetic pesticides and other toxic chemicals tainting our food and water supply.
– Genetically-modified food being sold to the public without labeling.
For true change to happen, it will require every single one of us to get involved and demand that our government do a better job of protecting our health.
In the meantime, we can vote with our dollars each time we go to the supermarket and buy organic. There is nothing more powerful than voting with our wallets.
More information about Dr. Oz’s testing and reaction from the juice companies can be found HERE.