Arsenic and apple juice

After more than a year of pressure from consumer groups, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is tightening limits for the amount of arsenic allowed in apple juice.

For decades, the FDA has acknowledged that most apple juice—second to orange juice as the most popular juice drink in the nation—contains traces of arsenic, a carcinogen found in water, soil and pesticides, according to SFGate.com.

The FDA has long maintained the arsenic in apple juice is at levels too low to be harmful, but is now setting the limit at the same amount allowed in drinking water. Under the new guidelines, apple juice containing more than 10 parts per billion could be removed from stores.