The U.S. Food and Drug Administration upgraded the level of the apple juice recall, originally issued on Aug. 15, from unclassified to class 2, which indicates "a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences," but is unlikely to cause "serious adverse health consequences."
"Product contains inorganic arsenic above action level set in industry guidance (13.2ppb)," meaning parts per billion, the FDA said of the juice.
The agency's enforcement report stated that 9,535 cases of Great Value brand apple juice sold at Walmart in 25 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia had been voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer Refresco Beverages US Inc.
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."
Product details of recalled apple juice
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.
Editor's note: This article was updated to include comments from a Refresco representative.