Florida Tests Popular Candy Products For Heavy Metal Contaminants

[rmc51]

Florida Tests Popular Candy Products For Heavy Metal Contaminants
https://100percentfedup.com/red-state-tests-popularndy-products-contaminants/

Quote:
“The Florida Department of Health tested 46 different candy brands from 10 different companies. Of those, 33 were traditional, well-known candies,” Casey DeSantis explained.

The well-known candies included items such as Three Musketeers, Snickers, Skittles, Nerds, Kit Kats, and Jolly Ranchers.

“In 26 of the 33 traditional candy brands tested, arsenic was detected at elevated levels,” she said.

https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/2016219613554414065

https://twitter.com/NicHulscher/status/2016348230150140237




 
Be careful, Be ready, Be prepared.
Buy ammo

[DB]

Hard to say if federal arsenic standards are realistic or not.

[rmc51]

Hard to say if federal arsenic standards are realistic or not.

Why should there be any arsenic in any food products?



 
Be careful, Be ready, Be prepared.
Buy ammo

[catfish1957]

I have enough toxicology background and experience to know that the 3 letter agencies established standards that at most times were whacked and nonsensical

Example?:

In 1984 I was the Environmental Engineer in this country who discovered that spent Unleaded Paint when contained under RCRA guidelines was a hazardous waste for extractable lead content.  Come to find out that there was enough naturally occurring Pb in the paint mfg process, that it was near impossible to bring it below the 5 ppm threshold.

I still remember telling the plant paint maintenance foremans this after sponsoring their conversion to "un-leaded" coatings. They though I was crazy,

Making Paint truly Pb free (at least for HW guidelines) would make a 5 gallon can of paint cost thousands of dollars at the time,   Lead Free?  Each agency had it's own guidelines.

[catfish1957]

Why should there be any arsenic in any food products?



 
Be careful, Be ready, Be prepared.
Buy ammo

Because instrumentaion now is so sensitive, it can reach down into the PPT range  (Parts per Trillion)

One secret that I probably shouldn't share?   I have no specific data, but think how much pesticide content there probably is in Crawfish.  Think about it...  A line share of the are grown off season in Rice Fields.

[catfish1957]

Hard to say if federal arsenic standards are realistic or not.

When you consider EPA (and all air, water, and waste subsets), FDA, OSHA, USCG, et.al, etc including different States have different guidelines 

 It can be confusing,

[catfish1957]

With a little more review, I'll give a my take from a toxicological perspective of this report:

Fact 1: Some of these candies have been tested for As and contain about 500 ppb (parts per billion)

Fact 2: Various standards and guidelines have been established to evaluate Arsenic intake.

RCRA- As disposing of the material as a hazardous waste is 5 ppm extractable. (parts per milion)  10X what was theoretically in the candy
FDA: Action limits for various products run 10-100 ppb.  But remember these are guidelines rather than regulatory limits.  These candies are obviously well over guidelines
SDWA : Drinking water quality has a limit of 10 ppb. (parts per billion)
TSCA: As a toxic substance standard ?  Defers to the drinking water limit

My take?  The first thing is to realize that As is mostly bioi-accumulative, but not near to the degree of Lead (Pb).  Meaning there is more risk with large intake versus an occasional Twizzler.  Secondly, that level of bioaccumulatiuon is more critical to the younger individual., and lastly?  I am surprised that these numbers are this high.  So do I think a little candy is going to hurt you?  Probably not.  But long term significant intake, may pose some additional risk.

My advise to the Candy Companies is to conduct some  root cause analyses of contamination, and source evaluations of where these sources are, and look for alternatives and substitutes.  These numbers broke no laws, but IMO warrant some attention,

[Wingnut]

Could we just go back to eating lead paint chips. 

[catfish1957]

Could we just go back to eating lead paint chips.

Yep, and if I was so inclined, I could write a book about EPA silliness,

[PeteS in CA]

Why should there be any arsenic in any food products?

If there is naturally occurring arsenic in a soil, plants grown in it - grains, legumes, nut, fruits - will absorb some of it. Also, IIRC, some deciduous fruits, e.g. apples and peaches, naturally concentrate some arsenic in their pits and seeds.

[catfish1957]

If there is naturally occurring arsenic in a soil, plants grown in it - grains, legumes, nut, fruits - will absorb some of it. Also, IIRC, some deciduous fruits, e.g. apples and peaches, naturally concentrate some arsenic in their pits and seeds.

As?  I think you meant cyanide, still. I think of plenty of people would be surprised how much natural occuring toxicants there are in every day life.

[catfish1957]

More ducky....,

Toxicity of Apple Seeds
Cyanide Content

Apple seeds contain a compound called amygdalin, which can release cyanide when metabolized. While cyanide is highly toxic, the amount in apple seeds is relatively low.
Lethal Dose

To experience harmful effects from apple seeds, a person would need to consume a significant quantity of crushed seeds.

    Lethal Dose: The lethal dose of cyanide is estimated to be between 50 to 300 milligrams.
    Seed Quantity: It is estimated that a person would need to eat approximately 83 to 500 crushed apple seeds to reach a dangerous level of cyanide exposure.

Safety Considerations

    Eating one or two apple seeds accidentally is unlikely to cause any harm.
    The seeds must be crushed or chewed to release the cyanide; whole seeds typically pass through the digestive system without issue.

Conclusion

While apple seeds do contain cyanide, the risk of poisoning is very low for most people, as it would require consuming a large number of crushed seeds.

[Wingnut]

Toxicity of Apple Seeds
Cyanide Content

Apple seeds contain a compound called amygdalin, which can release cyanide when metabolized. While cyanide is highly toxic, the amount in apple seeds is relatively low.
Lethal Dose

To experience harmful effects from apple seeds, a person would need to consume a significant quantity of crushed seeds.

    Lethal Dose: The lethal dose of cyanide is estimated to be between 50 to 300 milligrams.
    Seed Quantity: It is estimated that a person would need to eat approximately 83 to 500 crushed apple seeds to reach a dangerous level of cyanide exposure.

Safety Considerations

    Eating one or two apple seeds accidentally is unlikely to cause any harm.
    The seeds must be crushed or chewed to release the cyanide; whole seeds typically pass through the digestive system without issue.

Conclusion

While apple seeds do contain cyanide, the risk of poisoning is very low for most people, as it would require consuming a large number of crushed seeds.

Based on the above we must condemn Johnny Appleseed. 

[catfish1957]

Based on the above we must condemn Johnny Appleseed.

Bastard was spreading weapons of Mass Destruction.  Slather him Apple wood bacon fat, and send him to Dearborn Michigan.

[Sighlass]

Ahh now ... arsenic is just a good blood thinner and who doesn't need a little thinning after 3 Snickers Bars.

[catfish1957]

Ahh now ... arsenic is just a good blood thinner and who doesn't need a little thinning after 3 Snickers Bars.

Okay....   ready for my test taste for Arsenic!!!!!!

[PeteS in CA]

Thanks, @catfish1957. Mea goofa.