A voluntary product recall involving high levels of arsenic detected in apple juice was expanded Friday in grocery stores across the United States. File Photo by Billie Jean Shaw/UPI
Sept. 7 (UPI) — A voluntary recall of apple juice products containing elevated levels of poisonous arsenic has been expanded after an initial recall was issued last month, Walmart has announced.
According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration notice provided by Walmart on Friday, 133,500 cases of apple juice made by Refresco Beverages sold at Walmart, Aldi, Walgreens and other retail outlets have now joined an earlier voluntary recall of nearly 10,000 cases issued last month for Walmart.
The latest recall encompasses:
The FDA has set an arsenic action level of 10 ppb in apple juice, which it considers achievable with the use of good manufacturing practices.
The agency says arsenic may be present in food because it is in the environment where foods are grown, raised or processed. Arsenic in the soil, air and water may occur naturally or may be present due to human activity, such as the past use of arsenic containing pesticides or pollution from mining, fracking, and coal-fired power plants.
Exposure to inorganic arsenic is associated with adverse human health effects, including cancer, diabetes, adverse birth outcomes, and cardiovascular and neurodevelopmental effects.
While It is not possible to entirely remove arsenic from the environment or from the food supply. the FDA sets action levels when a level of a contaminant is unavoidable, to inform industry on the level of contamination above which the FDA may regard certain foods as adulterated.