Your Kids May Be Drinking Juice that Contains Arsenic and Lead

Parents may want to think twice before pouring juice for their kids — and not only because of the sugar content.

A new study from Consumer Reports found that many popular juice brands contain potentially harmful levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead.

The non-profit consumer research and advocacy organization tested 45 juices — including apple, grape, pear and blends — and found that 21 of them contained elevated levels of heavy metals, which can be harmful to a child’s development.

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What’s troubling is that even small amounts like half a cup — or 4 ounces — a day, can cause concern, says the group’s chief science officer James Dickerson.

And kids drink a lot of juice: More than 80 percent of parents who have kids age 3 and younger say they serve fruit juice at least sometimes, according to a separate Consumer Reports survey. In 74 percent of those cases, kids drink juice at least once a day.

While every product tested had measurable levels of cadmium, inorganic arsenic, lead, or mercury, grape juice and juice blends had the highest average heavy metal levels.

And, going organic doesn’t seem to make a difference. Organic juices were not found to have fewer metals than non-organic juices.

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