Apple Juice Arsenic Scandal: Dr Oz Criticized for Scare-Mongering
Television doctor Mehmet Oz has proclaimed that apple juice contains levels of poisonous arsenic, catching the attention of the Food and Drug Administration.
On his self-titled Fox talk show in front of an audience full of parents Wednesday, Dr. Oz pinpointed which brands contained the most amounts of the chemical, and displayed his efforts to get in contact with the FDA.
His allegation about the presence of the toxic chemical has led to Dr. Oz being accused of fear-mongering by the food safety government agency.
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The FDA has responded to Dr. Oz, publishing on their website: “There is no evidence of any public health risk from drinking these juices, and FDA has been testing them for years.”
Dr. Oz failed to distinguish between harmful inorganic arsenic from the organic type, according to the FDA. The agency issued a letter of warning to the talk show host, but Dr. Oz has not backed down.
Spokesperson for Oz’s show, Tim Sullivan, said in an interview that the show is not irresponsible, but that the public has a right to know what their food contains.
“The position of the show is that the total arsenic needs to be lower,” said Sullivan. “We did the tests. We stand by the results and we think the standards should be different.”
A spokesperson for the FDA, Stephanie Yao, told the Washington Post, “We’re concerned that people are going to start thinking their juice is unsafe when that’s not the case.”
Brooklyn pediatrician Dr. Phillippa Gordon said there is no reason for parents who give their kids apple juice to panic, reported NY Daily News.
“It’s the FDA’s job to regulate foods and their safety and they have a better facility and are better prepared to do that,” Dr. Gordon pointed out. “I would go with them than Dr. Oz., who has a commercial interest in bringing up certain points and publicizing them.”
The pediatrician noted that many juices contain dangerous levels of empty calories, not arsenic. “Children are only supposed to drink four to six ounces of juice a day,” Dr. Gordon continued. “They’re better off drinking milk or water.”
Esme Jones, a mother of three, told The Christian Post that Dr. Oz’s observations of apple juice omitted key facts, and that it does not change her opinion on the beverage.
Similar to Dr. Gordon, Jones added, “If parents are going to worry about what their kids are consuming, they should look at sugar content, and stick to water and organic food.”
