NEW YORK -- If you watched Wednesday's episode of The Dr. OZ Show - and even if you didn't - you may know what the Food and Drug Administration and others are saying is a false alarm about the dangers of apple juice.
According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, an independent lab, hired by the syndicated television program, found that some brands of apple juice have potentially dangerous levels of arsenic.
The lab found that a third of the samples used contained levels of arsenic higher than what the EPA allows in drinking water.
However, the FDA says the popular doc has got it all wrong. Senior FDA scientists warn that, "It would be irresponsible and misleading for The Dr. Oz Show to suggest that apple juice contains unsafe amounts of arsenic." They also question the testing methods used by the show, since the FDA conducted its own tests of the same apple juice lot and found arsenic levels well within safe margins (almost zero). "There is no evidence of any public health risk from drinking these juices. And FDA has been testing them for years," the agency says in a statement.
Arsenic is naturally present in water, air, food and soil in two forms - organic and inorganic. According to the FDA, organic arsenic passes through the body quickly and is essentially harmless. Inorganic arsenic - the type found in pesticides - can be toxic and may pose a cancer risk if consumed at high levels or over a long period.
Read more at Yahoo! News
Dr. Oz's medical school classmate, and ABC News Medical Editor, Dr. Richard Besser, lambasted him on Good Morning America Thursday saying the highly-visible doctor put out an "extremely irresponsible" report that he likened to "yelling 'Fire!' in a movie theater."
In response to the controversy, Dr. Oz says he does not want people to stop drinking apple juice, rather he wants to "figure out whether we have an issue." He says he will still buy American-made apple juice as the juice industry insists all of its products are tested and safe.
The Dr. Oz Show can be seen on WNWO each weekday at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
What do you think of the recent controversy surrounding Dr. Oz's apple juice claims? Will you continue to purchase American-made apple juice off grocery shelves? Weigh in below or on our Facebook page.
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