Dems Urge Release of FDA’s Proposed Guidelines Re: Arsenic in Fruit Juice

Democrats in Congress, including Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), are concerned about the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) extended delays in clearing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed guidelines to reduce the amount of arsenic, a known carcinogen, in fruit juice. In separate letters, they urged the OMB to release the guidelines.

Senator Blumenthal’s letter to the OMB reminded them that “there are human costs to delay” and that “[P]arents should not have to worry about whether the juice they give their child has arsenic in it.”

Reps. Pallone and DeLauro’s letter to OMB, stated that “[I]t is inexcusable that these guidelines are stalled while consumers continue to be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of arsenic.”

There is concern that frequent exposure to arsenic in juice could heighten children’s risk of developing deadly disease.  Inorganic arsenic has been linked to a range of cancers, including bladder, lung, and skin cancer.

Although the FDA guidelines sought by Senator Blumenthal and Reps. Pallone and DeLauro are only voluntary guidelines, Pallone and DeLauro are planning on introducing a bill to establish enforceable federal standards for arsenic and lead in fruit juice in the coming months.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.