Walmart stores in Florida recall apple juice due to elevated arsenic levels

FLORIDA – Walmart has recalled 9,500 cases of apple juice from its shelves in Florida and elsewhere after levels of naturally occurring arsenic exceeded levels recommended by the Food and Drug Administration.

Walmart’s Great Value 8-ounce 100 percent apple juice in six-packs, packaged in 8-ounce PET plastic bottles, is being recalled. The affected products have a best-before date of December 28, 2024, and a UPC code of 0-78742-29655-5, according to the FDA notice.

The juice is being recalled because the “product contains inorganic arsenic that exceeds the limit established by industry guidelines.”

The juice is being recalled from 27 states, including: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Walmart operates 341 stores in Florida.

Symptoms of immediate arsenic poisoning include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. According to the Cleveland Clinic, long-term exposure can cause skin changes such as darkening and lesions.

Inorganic arsenic is more toxic to humans than the naturally occurring form of the mineral arsenic, and the health effects of exposure are more severe, according to the FDA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified inorganic arsenic as a carcinogen, a substance that causes cancer.

The levels found in the recalled apple juice bottles are so low that the FDA does not believe they have such serious health consequences.

The FDA has not released any reports of possible illnesses related to the apple juice recall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.