The FDA has vowed to lower the lead levels in juice for children. It is always important to make sure that our children are hydrated, especially with the warmer weather coming up. We need to make sure that they are getting enough to drink, and while water is always the best way to get the liquid in them that they need, sometimes children want just a bit more. This could be milk or the ever-popular juice. While experts recommend that juice only be given occasionally, due to its sugar content, parents cannot help that their children love the fruity taste.
It looks like parents may have more to worry about than just sugar when it comes to children’s juice. According to Today, the FDA has promised to lower the amount of lead that is found in apple juice - arguably the most popular juice for kids.
The FDA, whose announcement can be read in full here, stated that the changes they are planning to make could lead to a 46% reduction in lead exposure for children. This report comes more than 3 years after a warning was sent out.
A Consumer Reports investigation had previously found that a lot of fruit juices still contained levels of lead that they called “concerning.” They stated that consumption of this daily for years could lead to health risks for children, and adults. Dr. Robert Califf, the FDA commissioner, stated that this level of lead exposure, especially to children, is not acceptable and something needs to change.
The current limit of lead in juice is 50 parts per billion, however, the changes would see this reduced to 10 parts per billion in apple juice and 20 parts per billion in all other juices.
This is just part of a bigger plan that the FDA has to get rid of toxic elements in foods, but some are stating that this is still not enough. Advocate groups state that it should be reduced to 1 part per billion.
The FDA will continue to accept comments from the public until June 28th, but they wanted to reassure everyone that this is not the lowest they want to go, and they are setting these numbers in the hopes that the manufacturers will go even lower. What is in the food and drinks that our children consume is important to parents, and they have the right to know with full transparency what is in them.