The FDA has announced that Walmart is recalling approximately 10,000 cases of apple juice due to potentially dangerous levels of arsenic.

The recall affects Great Value brand apple juice, which is sold in six-packs of 230 ml bottles. Although the recall began on August 15, the FDA classified it as a more urgent risk (Class II) on Friday.

According to the FDA, Class II recalls are issued when a product may have temporary, adverse health effects and is not likely to cause serious medical problems.

The UPC code for the recalled juices is 0-78742-29655-5 and the expiration date is December 28, 2024.

States served by Walmart included Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

According to the FDA, the juices contained 13.2 ppm of arsenic. The FDA issued guidelines for apple juice last year that state that the maximum ppm level should be 10 ppm.

What does arsenic mean?

The FDA states that arsenic is a naturally occurring mineral that can be harmful to humans.

According to the EPA, eating food contaminated with arsenic can have serious long-term health consequences. These depend on a variety of circumstances, such as the amount of arsenic in the food, the age of the consumer and the frequency of exposure.

According to the National Institutes of Health, most foods contain very small amounts of both organic and inorganic arsenic. Testing is necessary because slightly elevated levels of either type can cause symptoms such as muscle cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and stomach pain.

Read also: Police officer involved in Scottie Scheffler case charged with theft from suspect

According to the FDA, inorganic arsenic is more harmful to humans than the naturally occurring form of the mineral arsenic, and exposure to it can cause more serious health effects.

Inorganic arsenic has been classified as a carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but the FDA does not believe that the amounts found in the recalled apple juice bottles will cause such serious health effects because they are so low.

reference