Just as parents are stocking up on juices for their children’s lunchboxes, Walmart has voluntarily initiated the recall of 9,535 cases of Great Value apple juice due to increased inorganic arsenic levels.
“Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is widely distributed in the Earth’s crust. It is found in water, air, food, and soil. Exposure to arsenic affects human health,” states the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH).
The NIH further explained that organic arsenic contains carbon and is unrelated to “organic” food. Inorganic arsenic, which does not contain carbon, is more toxic and has more severe health effects.
According to the World Health Organization, “The immediate symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning include vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. These are followed by numbness and tingling of the extremities, muscle cramping and death, in extreme cases.”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that apple juice recall is classified as Class II, which involves “a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
Product Description: Great Value; 8oz Apple Juice in 6 packs; 100% Juice; packaged in 8 oz. PET plastic bottles; UPC 0-78742-29655-5. Best if Used by: December 28, 2024. Code on bottles: CT89-6.
The recalled product was sold at Walmart locations in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, and Puerto Rico.