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Concerns Over Possible Arsenic, Lead In Apple Juice

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Juice is a popular option when your kids are thirsty. But the results of some new testing on apple and other juices may have you thinking twice before you pour.

Consumer Reports is warning about arsenic and lead in apple juice. The new study seems to back up a report the Dr. Oz show ran a couple months ago, and even the Food and Drug Administration is looking into it.

In a world filled with concerned parents, apple juice has always been a solution, not a problem, when giving it to their kids.

"I think moms choose apple juice cause it stains less," said Emily Dutot of Edina, a mother of two. "It's more clear; like the kids always love it, it's a sure thing."

But the Consumer Reports juice study has her wondering -- 10 percent of the juices tested had more arsenic than is allowed in drinking water; 25 percent had more lead.

Dutot actually started to cut back when Dr. Oz ran a similar report.

"Out of concern we are alternating. We used to be a lot more apple juice and now we are doing a lot more with grape juice and white grape juice. And we're diluting it with water," she said.

The government has rules for arsenic and lead in water, but not fruit juice. The FDA said it is confident in the safety of apple juice, but that it has "expanded our surveillance activities … to help determine if a guidance level can be established."

"We think the FDA should move swiftly to put guidance in place, followed by standards, for arsenic and lead in juices," said Urvashi Rangan of Consumer Reports.

"It's still fruit," said Wendy Russell, a mother of two from Lincoln, Neb. "It's still probably, in my mind, OK."

Her kids don't drink as much juice as they used to, but she's heard these kinds of warnings before. For now, she'll take this one with a grain of salt.

"My blood pressure didn't get raised," said Russell. "There's going to be something with broccoli. There's going to be something with carrots. There's always going to be something."

Arsenic can be found in apples naturally and these are still trace amounts. But Consumer Reports is concerned that much of the arsenic in the juice it tested was not organic.

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