Comments on: Report: lead in popular children's fruit juice brands

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lead is an element, it’s already in the soil along with several other dangerous heavy metals. All food you eat has SOME level of lead, cadmium, etc. in it. Lead is literally everywhere.

By: SamSam

SamSam — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Just being on the periodic table doesn’t make lead organic. Natural, yes, but organic no.

I never took orgo, but I’m pretty sure that organic molecules have to contain a carbon atom. Or was it a C-H bond?

Next time I see a label that says “100% organic,” I’m going to check the nutrition information for any reference to minerals (iron, sodium) and positively demand that the manufacturers remove the weight of these elements from the stated organic percentage….

Speaking of which, couldn’t the juice manufactures just call it a dietary mineral? Or maybe an “inactive ingredient?” Then people would start favoring the juices with *more* lead!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m going to speculate about mode of contamination; I’d be interested if someone knows better. I do know for a certainty that before the introduction of organic (chemical sense, carbon-containing) pesticides, the pesticides used on orchards were often lead-, copper-, and arsenic-based. I also know that these remain for years in many soils. (I think that really sandy soil may leach clean.) The good places for orchards aren’t all that common. If something is an orchard now, there’s a good chance it was in the bad old days and has contaminated soil.

I have heard that most fruit trees are pretty good in not taking up metals. The thus fruit won’t be contaminated by the tree itself. However, any dirt that gets onto the fruit will be lead-laced; probably arsenic-laced too. The answer may be nothing more complex than some contamination with orchard-floor soil

–Beryl

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“Environmental Law Foundation”, If you click this link at top of this page, it takes you to more info.
Click “notice sent” for list of companies that have lead.
for EACH item that tested positive for ANY lead, click link “for more info. click “”here”".
This does have a COMPLETE LISt of All juices, ones that they found lead, and ones they did not.
The FDA is not doing antthing to warn/ protect us.
Good Luck

By: Tweeker

Tweeker — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lead occurs in nature, but the world wide spread of contamination is not of natural origin. Decades of burning tetraethyl lead (TEL) is a major source that is spread everywhere.

A chemist would say TEL is organic, a gardener might not.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Isn’t keeping track of stuff like this what the FDA is for? Damn.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The FDA was crippled under Dubya and this is why things like this are happening. He cut staff and money from the FDA and thought it was fit for these companies to police themselves. Kind of like he and Cheney thought the oil companies could police themselves. And look how that turned out…

By: IWood

IWood — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

More econut alarmism.

Lead protects children from harmful radiation.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I am so sick of learning about lead in childrens’ products. What is the matter with manufacturers, that they would allow such a thing? Dollar-store jewelry marketed to pre-schoolers, loaded with lead and other poisons… chewable childrens’ vitamins loaded with lead… and now juice???
Why are they doing this to our children?

By: Lester

Lester — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have yet to hear any follow-up after the NPR story, except it is getting endless rewrites on the mommy panic blogs. The fact that their list of offenders includes presumably “safe” brands like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s is interesting. Oh well, it’ll save me money on apple juice until we find that our tapwater is unsafe…

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Of course our tapwater is unsafe, that’s why we must drink bottled water!

By: mtreighie

mtreighie — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The article states that some brands completely avoided lead contamination, but does not bother telling us WHICH brands. They had no problem listing some of the contaminated brands… it just screams sensationalist journalism

Many of these drinks contain a deadly poison! Brand X and Y certainly do! Guess which of the others are also poison, we’re not going to tell you.

By: Dewi Morgan

Dewi Morgan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Per?

By: risser

risser — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s this list of brands they include in the warning. Looks like 100% juices are the worst.

My problem is, does that mean Juicy Juice 100% juice tested OKAY, or does it mean they didn’t bother testing it.

Sheesh.

===

1 365 Everyday Value Organic 100% Juice Concord Grapes
2 Beech Nut 100% Apple Juice
3 Best Yet Bartlett Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
4 Best Yet Chunky Mixed Fruit in Pear Juice
5 Best Yet Yellow Cling Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
6 Chef’s Review Fruit Cocktail
7 Del Monte 100% Juice Fruit Cocktail
8 Del Monte Chunky Mixed Fruit in 100 % Juice (peach, pear, grape, etc.)
9 Del Monte Diced Pears in Light Syrup
10 Del Monte Freestone Peach Slices in 100 % Juice
11 Del Monte Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peach, pear, grapes)
12 Del Monte Fruit Cocktail No Sugar Added
13 Del Monte Lite Fruit Cocktail in Extra Light Syrup
14 Del Monte Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
15 Del Monte Pear Halves, Bartlett Pears in 100% real fruit juice from concentrate
16 Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in 100 % Juice
17 Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
18 Dole Diced Peaches, Yellow Cling in light syrup
19 Dole Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup
20 Dole Pear Halves in Juice
21 Earth’s Best Organics Apple Juice
22 Eating Right Fruit Cocktail packed in Sucralose
23 Eating Right No Sugar Fruit Cocktail
24 First Street 100% Apple Cider from concentrate
25 First Street Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
26 First Street Diced Pears
27 First Street Fruit Cocktail in heavy syrup
28 First Street Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
29 First Street Sliced Bartlett
30 First Street Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
31 Full Circle Organic Apple Juice
32 Full Circle Organic Bartlett Pear Slices
33 Gerber 100% Juice – White Grape Juice
34 Gerber 100% Juice Apple Juice
35 Gerber 3rd Foods Peaches
36 Gerber 3rd Foods Pears
37 Golden Star Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup (peach, pineapple, pears)
38 Golden Star Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
39 Great Value 100% Grape Juice
40 Great Value 100% No Sugar Added Apple Juice
41 Great Value Bartlett Pear Halves in 100% Juice
42 Great Value Bartlett Sliced Pears in Heavy Syrup
43 Great Value No Sugar Added Fruit Cocktail
44 Great Value Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches
45 Hansen’s Natural Apple Juice
46 Kedem Concord Grape Juice 100% pure grape juice
47 Kroger 100% Juice Apple Juice
48 Kroger Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
49 Kroger Grape Juice 100% Juice
50 Kroger Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
51 Kroger Value Fruit Mix (Peaches, pears, grapes)
52 Langers Apple Juice 100% Juice
53 Langers Grape Juice (Concord)
54 Langers Red Grape Juice
55 Libby’s Fruit Cocktail No Sugar Added (Sweetened with Splenda)
56 Libby’s Yellow Cling Peach Slices No Sugar Added (Sweetened with Splenda)
57 Market Pantry Diced Peaches in light syrup
58 Market Pantry Diced Pears in light syrup
59 Market Pantry Mixed Fruit in light syrup
60 Maxx Value Fruit Mix in Light Syrup (peach, pear, grape)
61 Maxx Value Pear Pieces in Light Syrup
62 Minute Maid Juice Apple – 100% Apple Juice
63 Motts 100% Apple Juice
64 Mrs. Brown’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peaches, pears, grapes)
65 O Organics Organic Grape Juice from concentrate
66 O Organics Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice Not From Concentrate
67 Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice
68 Parade 100% Juice Apple
69 Polar Mixed Fruit
70 Polar Peach Slices
71 Polar Pear Halves in light syrup
72 R.W. Knudsen Just Concord Grape Juice
73 R.W. Knudsen Organic Just Concord
74 Raley’s 100% Grape Juice
75 Raley’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
76 Raley’s Premium 100% Apple Juice not from Concentrate
77 Raley’s Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in Heavy Syrup
78 S&W Natural Style Fruit Cocktail in Lightly Sweetened Juice
79 S&W Natural Style Pear Slices in Juice
80 S&W Natural Style Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Lightly Sweetened Juice
81 S&W Premium Peach Halves Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
82 S&W Sun Pears Premium
83 Safeway 100% Juice Apple Cider
84 Safeway 100% Juice Apple Juice
85 Safeway 100% Juice Grape Juice
86 Safeway Diced Peaches in Light Syrup
87 Safeway Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
88 Safeway Light Sugar Fruit Cocktail
89 Safeway Lite Bartlett Pear Halves in Pear Juice
90 Safeway Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
91 Safeway Organic Grape Juice
92 Safeway Pear Halves in Light Juice
93 Safeway Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Pear Juice
94 Santa Cruz Organic Concord Grape Juice
95 Simple Value Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
96 Stater Bros. 100% Juice Apple Juice
97 Stater Bros. 100% Juice Grape Juice
98 Stater Bros. 100% Juice White Grape Juice
99 Stater Bros. Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
100 Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Peach Halves
101 Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in heavy syrup
102 Sunny Select 100% Apple Juice
103 Sunny Select 100% Grape Juice
104 Sunny Select Fruit Cocktail in Juice
105 Sunny Select Pear Halves in Pear Juice
106 Sunny Select Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in Pear Juice
107 Trader Joe’s Certified Organic Apple Juice, pasteurized
108 Trader Joe’s Concord Grape Juice made from fress pressed organic concord grapes
109 Trader Joe’s Pear Halves in white grape juice
110 Trader Joe’s Yellow Cling Peach Halves in while grape juice
111 Tree Top 100% Juice Apple Cider
112 Tree Top 100% Juice, Grape
113 Truitt Brothers Pacific NorthWest Bartlett Pear Halves, in pear juice from concentrate
114 Valu Time Grape Drink from Concentrate
115 Valu Time Irregular Bartlett Pear Slices
116 Valu Time Yellow Cling Peach Slices
117 Walgreens Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
118 Walgreens Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
119 Walnut Acres Organic Concord Grape
120 Walnut Grove Market 100% Apple Juice
121 Walnut Grove Market Grape Juice
122 Walnut Grove Market Natural Peaches Sliced Yellow Cling in Light Syrup
123 Walnut Grove Market Natural Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
124 Welch’s 100% Grape Juice (from Welch’s Concord Grapes)
125 Welch’s 100% Red Grape Juice from Concentrate

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I remember an organic apple farmer telling me that in the old days they used lead as a pesticide.

By: Razzabeth

Razzabeth — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick. I drink pretty much nothing but Santa Cruz organic. And I’ve definitely had my fair share of Trader Joe’s Pear halves. Uggh, I feel angry letters to the companies coming on.

By: Moriarty

Moriarty — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“In the meantime, many scientists, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, now say that there is no safe level of exposure to lead.”

What the hell does that even mean? That a single atom of lead will harm me?

By: Dewi Morgan

Dewi Morgan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

0.5ug = 5/1,000,000,000ths of a 100ml glass = 1,000 times larger than 5ppt.

Leaded petrol is still in use “in some parts of South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East” [wikipedia]. So are imported fruits the problem?

By: MrsBug

MrsBug — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

risser, the test must be sponsored by the Corn Industry (HFCS) if the 100% juices are coming up bad. :D Good ol’ all-natural HFCS doesn’t contaminate your children’s drinks with lead!

By: sic transit gloria C.F.A.

sic transit gloria C.F.A. — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

It means any amount of lead that we can measure is considered unsafe. That’s rather more than one atom’s worth.

By: tad604

tad604 — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Well it seems they’ve failed, can we abolish the FDA now?

on a serious note. How the hell did they miss this? And is this the result of certain political factions screaming for smaller government? and will this cause them decry the uselessness of what government agencies there are?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

you realize tyour average tap water contains 0.5 micrograms of lead right?

By: sic transit gloria C.F.A.

sic transit gloria C.F.A. — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Rather interesting that several of the juices have an “organic” label. Wonder where the lead came in, and why the certification organizations missed it?

By: Dean W. Armstrong

Dean W. Armstrong — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The listed products all exceeded 0.5 micrograms per serving, which from the press release indicates it triggers California’s infamous disclosure law. 0.5 ug / (what is a serving? 100g?) is a lot more than 3ppt.

The real question is what is putting the lead in food, as that’s really not a good thing. The report was shockingly bad at not talking about any of the results or methods or anything else.

I have happened to read an Ohio state report about heavy metals in farming soil, and they reported that Pb was not absorbed by plants. Cadmium was. The sources of lead were (as has been mentioned above) 1. pesticides containing lead; 2. atmospheric deposition of automobile exhaust; 3. former human residences returned to agricultural use; 4. downwind pollution from metal smelters; 5. sewer sludge fertilizer (and 6. naturally occurring lead but that’s pretty small). http://ohioline.osu.edu/rc275/index.html

I wonder where the fruit was sourced from. I’ve been unhappy that US companies ship fruit all the way from China when we have really great fruit here.

I wonder about the containers the fruit juice is in. For acidic juices often the container has a galvanized steel for protection; where there’s zinc there is often a touch of lead; both are usually found together in ores, have similar chemical properties, and I believe I read a touch of lead is helpful in galvanized coatings (keeps it on the steel or something).

I wonder about the fuel used in agricultural machines. Have we stopped using leaded fuel?

By: MollyMaguire

MollyMaguire — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hey, lead’s organic.

My family stopped drinking juices a while ago because of all the empty sugar calories. They really are pretty unnecessary food products.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

For the cynics above with dangerously poor reading comprehension and/or research skills, here is the list of all products tested by the Environmental Law Group in their study – indicating which passed and which failed:

http://www.envirolaw.org/documents/ProductsTestedforLeadFINAL.pdf

By: tsdguy

tsdguy — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Isn’t lead organic? It’s on the periodic chart..

I also would like to know how lead gets into fruit juices. Is it from cheap manufacturing equipment with lead (like lead solder)? Is it from car exhaust that naturally falls on the fruit? Taken up by the plant from the soil?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Oh my GOD. Literally. Is there any brand that consumers use often, NOT on that list? It makes me want to ck everything in my cupboard for contaminates of one sort or another. I know there is a penchant for going overboard in regards to being “too safe”, but this just makes me feel like my childs safety is in my hands and my hands only. So i say “I can never be too safe with my own kids”.

By: zoink

zoink — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I am a bit of a worrywart about lead; I think that it is often not considered during remodeling of older buildings, and that lots of kids are harmed by our general blase attitude about it.

That said, I have to wonder if we in a bit of a double bind on this. If any detectable amount of lead is considered harmful, and lead is a naturally occurring substance that will probably be found in trace amounts anywhere, what is the logical reaction? Do we stop eating food, or only eat food produced in cleanroom conditions?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lead is not organic. Organic means something to do with organisms – either produced by them, or arising in a manner similar to them, or so on. In chemistry it means compounds with carbon and hydrogen, which were originally thought to be exclusively derived from living things. Lead does not fit a single one of these definitions.