Walmart has recalled nearly 10,000 cases of apple juice sold in stores across the United States due to high levels of arsenic.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the recall a more urgent classification Friday after making its original announcement Aug. 15,” the Associated Press noted.

The agency changed the recall from ‘unclassified’ to ‘class II.’

A ‘class II’ recall indicates a “situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”

From the Associated Press:

The recall applies to 9,535 cases of Great Value brand apple juice sold in 25 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Florida-based manufacturer Refresco Beverages US Inc. voluntarily recalled the contaminated six-packs of 8-ounce (227-gram) juice bottles after discovering levels of the chemical contaminant that exceeded industry standards.

A spokesperson for Refresco did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Sunday.

“The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority,” Walmart spokesperson Molly Blakeman said in a statement. “We have removed this product from our impacted stores and are working with the supplier to investigate.”

Very low levels of inorganic and organic arsenic are found in many food products, according to the National Institutes of Health. Testing is routine, as slightly elevated levels of either form can cause symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, numbness and muscle cramping.

The impacted states and territories include:

AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV

Per Good Morning America:

A representative for Refresco told ABC News in a statement, “We are aware that certain lots of the 100% apple juice we previously manufactured contains inorganic arsenic slightly above the FDA’s 10 ppb (parts per billion) action level in the FDA Final Guidance to Industry on Action Level for Inorganic Arsenic in Apple Juice, which aims at reducing the dietary exposure of contaminants to as low as possible. As a result, impacted products are being voluntarily recalled.”

The statement continued, “At this time there are no reported complaints or incidents of illness caused by the product. Per the FDA, it is not possible to completely prevent arsenic from entering the food supply, yet exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic can have adverse health effects.”

The representative added that “the safety of consumers and the satisfaction of our customers are our top priorities” and that the company is “working diligently to address the situation.”

The contaminated Great Value beverages in question were sold in six-packs of 8-ounce plastic bottles with the UPC code 0-78742-29655-5.

The recalled apple juice has a “Best if used by” date code of DEC2824 CT89-6.

Read the FDA recall notice HERE.

 

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