The FDA has expanded a recall over concerns of potentially harmful arsenic levels to include 141,298 cases of apple juice products sold in stores such as Aldi, Walgreens and Walmart.
The latest update to the notice on September 11 lists eleven apple juice products manufactured by Florida-based Refresco Beverages US Inc. to be recalled due to levels of inorganic arsenic above industry guidance.
This comes after more than 10,000 apple juice cases manufactured by the company and sold in Walmart were recalled over arsenic concerns at the end of August.
The current recall includes the original apple juice products sold at Walmart in addition to retailers such as Aldi, Dollar General, BJ’s Wholesale and Walgreens.
The latest update from the FDA indicates that the impacted products were sold in 16 different states as well as Puerto Rico.
Manufacturer Refresco said that the voluntary recall was issued “out of an abundance of caution” after becoming aware that some products had inorganic arsenic levels “slightly above the FDA’s ppb (parts per billion) action level”.
“The safety of consumers is always our top priority,” they said.
“At this time there are no reported incidents caused by these products.
“We are working diligently to address the situation and encourage consumers to check the FDAs recall list and use the information on their site to determine if they are in possession of products that fall within this proactive, voluntary recall.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies inorganic arsenic as a carcinogen and it can usually be traced to contaminated drinking water.
It is a natural component of the earth’s crust and can also be found in its organic form, for example, in seafood, which is considered less harmful.
Immediate symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning include vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
