Apple juice sold in SC recalled for arsenic levels. Here’s where, what brand & health risks

Apple juice sold by Walmart in South Carolina and 24 other states has been recalled due to high arsenic levels, the Food and Drug Administration announced.

No illnesses were reported, but symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, numbness and muscle cramping.

Walmart and the maker of the product Refresco Beverages US Inc., based in Florida, voluntarily recalled almost 10,000 cases of its Great Value brand apple juice.

The FDA issued the recall in mid-August and upgraded it Friday.

The product is sold in six-packs of 8-ounce bottles and has a UPC code of 0-78742-29655-5 and a use by date of Dec. 28, 2024. The juice contains inorganic arsenic as opposed to naturally occurring arsenic. Both are commonly found in low amounts in food.

Inorganic arsenic has a higher toxicity and has been labeled a carcinogen.

Long-term negative health effects depend on the mineral level, the consumer’s age and the frequency of exposure, the FDA said, but in this case the agency does not expect the product to cause severe health consequences.

Besides South Carolina, the recalled products were sold in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Levels found in the recalled apple juice bottles are low enough that the FDA does not expect them to cause such severe health consequences.

Last year, Florida-based WanaBana voluntarily recalled some batches of applesauce due to high levels of lead, and the FDA banned the product. The parents of two South Carolina children alleged their children suffered health problems and have sued the company.

Hundreds of other cases have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control, the federal agency said.