Beware, your favourite beverage might have alarming levels of toxic metals
The sampled beverages included those commonly found in grocery stores even here in Kenya including single and mixed fruit juices, plant-based milk, sodas and teas.
What you need to know:
- Mixed-fruit juices and plant-based milk (such as oat and almond) contained elevated concentrations of toxic metals more often than other drinks.
- Seven of the 25 elements exceeded drinking water standards in some of the drinks, including nickel, manganese, boron, cadmium, strontium, arsenic and selenium.
- While lead was detected in more than 93 per cent of the 60 samples, most contained very low levels below one part per billion.
Commonly consumed beverages contain levels of toxic materials that exceed the drinking standards, a new study has found
The study findings, published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, revealed that five out of the 60 beverages tested contained levels of a toxic metal above federal drinking water standards
The study conducted by Tulane University in the US revealed that two mixed juices had levels of arsenic above the 10 microgram/litre standard. A cranberry juice, a mixed carrot and fruit juice and oat milk each had levels of cadmium exceeding the three parts per billion standards.
The sampled beverages, which included those commonly found in grocery stores even here in Kenya including single and mixed fruit juices, plant-based milk, sodas,and teas were measured for 25 different toxic metals and trace elements.
“Mixed-fruit juices and plant-based milk (such as oat and almond) contained elevated concentrations of toxic metals more often than other drinks,” says the study.
Seven of the 25 elements exceeded drinking water standards in some of the drinks, including nickel, manganese, boron, cadmium, strontium, arsenic and selenium. While lead was detected in more than 93 per cent of the 60 samples, most contained very low levels below one part per billion.
The highest level (6.3 micrograms/kg) was found in a lime sports drink, though that’s below World Health Organization standards for drinking water.
“It was surprising that there aren’t a lot of studies out there concerning toxic and essential elements in soft drinks. This will create awareness that there needs to be more study.” Dr Tewodros Godebo, lead author and assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine said.
He said it was important to conduct the study since there are few peer-reviewed studies examining the contents of American beverages.
The researcher warned that parents should be cautious about what drinks they offer their children since the consequences are not so huge in adults, they consume in smaller quantities than water
“People should avoid giving infants and young children mixed-fruit juices or plant-based milk at high volume,” Godebo said. “Arsenic, lead, and cadmium are known carcinogens and well established to cause internal organ damage and cognitive harm in children, especially during early brain development.”
He said the elements found in beverages presumably come from contaminated soil since they are naturally occurring so it’s hard to get rid of completely.
There is a need to conduct a risk assessment based on the data collected to see the impacts of consuming toxic metals in children and adults.
“We are curious to keep exploring what’s in our drinks and foods commercially sold to the consumers,” he said.
