Apple Juice Controversy Shocks Consumers

An apple juice controversy is spreading in the US after the debate between two high-profile TV doctors regarding arsenic levels in apple juice, leaving some moms panicking.

Host Dr. Mehmet Oz in a television interview last Thursday said that 60 percent of apples being used in apple juice come from overseas where arsenic-based pesticides are still used.

A study commissioned by the show found “significant levels of arsenic in several store brands of apple juice” which started the controversy. Some TV promotions for the episode somewhat made the case that parents should be “shocked.”

Although he made it clear that his message isn’t to stop drinking apple juice, Dr. Oz pointed out that consuming apple juice with arsenic have “long-term implications to our nerves, to our heart and even to cancer rates.”

Dr. Mark Kostic of the Wisconsin Poison Center and Children’s Hospital, on the other hand, said the apple juice controversy which originated on the television show has raised unnecessary concern.

Although he agrees that it’s good to draw attention to the types of chemicals that are in the food we eat, in this case, Dr. Kostic said there’s no distinction made between toxic arsenic and non-toxic dietary arsenic, which is commonly found in apple juice.

“The problem is he’s raising a big red flag and probably causing a lot of unnecessary concern because it’s most likely dietary arsenic and non-toxic,” Kostic said.

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