Each day, our children enjoy a cup of juice with breakfast and I like that they start the day with at least one serving of fruit. I know that whole fruit is a healthier choice but they have about 5oz, and it's the only beverage they typically have other than water and milk. I've not given much thought to our juice since it's organic or local, and always without added sugars or additives. I've assumed it's nothing but goodness for our children.
Boy, I was was wrong.
The Environmental Law Foundation has recently found dangerous levels of toxic lead in children's juice products that far exceed a California state law -- and in some cases also exceed federal levels for young children. According to their findings, 125 out of 146 items contained enough lead in a single serving to warrant a warning label under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.
The items tested include apple and grape juice, packaged pears and peaches, and fruit cocktail. When I first read the report, I had a sigh of relief for my own family since we buy organic fruit juice but the study indicates that some organic labels didn't pass the test either.
The problem with lead.
The Federal Drug Administration who overseas these types of issues, has indicated:
A spokesman confirmed that the federal limits for lead were last updated nearly two decades ago. In the meantime, many scientists, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, now say that there is no safe level of exposure to lead.
Lead has a cumulative effect as it builds up in the body and children, due to their smaller size, have a tendency to experience greater effects from most toxic chemicals. There is strong evidence linking lead to cardiovascular, brain and nervous system concerns and children are at high risk.
What's a concerned parent to do? The full list of all the products tested, broken down into the categories of those with samples exceeding and not exceeding the California limit can be found RIGHT HERE.
Sadly, our current brand of apple juice did not meet levels that pediatricians (or myself) feel comfortable with so we'll be switching this week. We've had Tree Top and R.W. Knudsen Organic apple juices before so we'll likely return to those. We like the Santa Cruz Organic lines of juices and are disappointed to see their grape juice not make the cut. I hope that these food companies look into this and make the changes necessary to get back on our family list.
To learn more about healthy choices for your family, visit Feed Our Families.
