Lead in Juice

Does the juice or canned fruit you serve your children contain high levels of lead?  According to a new study, there is a very good chance it does.  What is even more alarming, is that some juices and fruits that we assume are safe are actually included in the list of those tainted with lead – brands such as Earth’s Best Organic, 365 Everyday Value Organic and Trader Joe’s.

On June 9, 2010 the Environmental Law Foundation filed Notices of Violation of California Proposition 65 Toxins Right to Know law, alleging the toxic chemical lead was found in a variety of children’s and baby foods.  Their study found 125 out of 146 products tested, or 85 percent, contained alarming amounts of lead.  A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lab screened 400 samples from 150 branded products marketed to children, including  apple juice, grape juice, packaged pears and peaches (including baby food), and fruit cocktail mixes. 

Lead has long been know to cause physical and developmental issues and according to doctors and scientists there is no known safe level of lead.  According to the foundation, these products contain enough lead in a single serving to warrant a warning label under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, or Proposition 65. (Unfortunately, California is the only state that has enacted this kind of law.)

Click here for a list of products found to be tainted — and untainted — by lead.