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The federal Food and Drug Administration and a leading doctor are disputing suggestions by television show host Dr. Mehmet Oz that trace amounts of arsenic in many apple juice products pose a health concern.
Oz said on "The Dr. Oz. Show" Wednesday that testing by a New Jersey lab has found what he implied are concerning levels of arsenic in many juices.
However, the FDA says the lab methods were not appropriate and that its own tests show much lower arsenic levels. The agency warned the show's producers in advance that their testing was misleading.
Dr. Richard Besser, former acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also scolded Oz Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America" show for scaring consumers with what Besser called an "extremely irresponsible" report, like "yelling `Fire!' in a movie theater."
The issue: arsenic is naturally present in water, air, food, and soil in organic and inorganic forms, according to the FDA. "Organic arsenic is essentially harmless," and passes through the body quickly, the agency says. Inorganic arsenic is the type found in pesticides and at high levels or over a long period, can cause concern.
The testing "The Dr. Oz Show" did was for total arsenic, and the FDA even disputes those levels. The agency's own tests found lower total arsenic from one of the same juice batches the show's lab tested.
Tim Sullivan, a spokesman for Oz's show, sent an email saying: "We don't think the show is irresponsible. We think the public has a right to know what's in their foods."
Sullivan said Oz does not agree that organic arsenic is as safe as authorities believe, and that the show will do further tests to distinguish organic from inorganic arsenic in juice samples.
"The position of the show is that the total arsenic needs to be lower," he said. "We did the tests. We stand by the results and we think the standards should be different."
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AP television writer David Bauder contributed to this report.
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Online:
FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm271394.htm
and http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm271746.htm
"The Dr. Oz Show": http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/arsenic-apple-juice
Besser-Oz faceoff: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm271394.htm
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