Good Juice, Bad Juice

Did you hear the breaking news yesterday about dangerous levels of arsenic being found in our kids’ apple and grape juices? Well, it’s serious business.

Consumer advocates are saying the FDA is allowing too much inorganic arsenic into apple and grape juice and that the government is failing to enforce protective standards. The FDA allows 23 parts per billion as a benchmark to determine whether apple juice is contaminated. Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is calling for this level to be reduced to as low as 3 parts per billion. The EPA’s level for drinking water, set at 10 parts per billion, is much safer than the juice our little ones are currently drinking!

Consumer Reports, a product-testing organization, analyzed 88 samples of juice and found that 9 of those samples had arsenic levels exceeding federal limits set for drinking water. Of those brands sampled were:

• Apple & Eve
• Great Value
• Mott’s
• Walgreens
• Welch’s

At least one of each of these brands had a sample that exceeded the 10 parts per billion threshold. Consumer Reports also reported that 25% of all juice samples had lead levels at or above the federal limit for bottled water. Grape juice samples were actually higher than apple juice.

What are the dangers of arsenic? Well, organic arsenic is not harmful to the body and will quickly pass through. It’s the inorganic arsenic that’s the problem. Inorganic arsenic is known to cause bladder, lung, and skin cancer as well as increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Some reports have even suggested that arsenic exposure can affect brain development in children!

So what should you do if you have a juice-drinking toddler? All of the experts, including the government and consumer advocates, agree that the concern is over drinking large amounts of juice over a long period of time. Drinking small amounts of apple juice is not harmful. However, options to consider are:

• Limit juice intake of children under 6 to 6 ounces a day.
• Limit juice intake of children over 6 to no more than 8-12 ounces a day
• Infants under 6 months should not consume juice at all
• Dilute your child’s juice with water first
• Diversify brands of juice purchased in case one brand tends to have higher arsenic levels

New Car Seat Safety Laws Aim to Protect 6 to 8 year olds in Car Accidents

A new law that goes into effect in Georgia this Friday will be a crucial step in closing the gap between Georgia law and federal guidelines when it comes to child seat safety laws and protecting children in car accidents.

Beginning July 1, the minimum age for a child to stop using a booster seat will change from 6 to 8. However, children under the age of 8 who weigh more than 40 pounds and are more than 4 feet 9 inches tall will be exempted from the law. Children who are less than 40 pounds and shorter than 57 inches tall are just too small to properly be restrained by a vehicle's seatbelt alone. They will be required to use a booster seat or 5-point harness.

Statistics show that only about 12% of children between the ages of 6 and 8 are currently using booster seats so there will be a lot of children going back into booster seats that had previously been using only the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt. But the bright side is this: statistics also show that children who are properly restrained have a much greater chance of surviving a motor vehicle collision with minor injuries or no injuries at all.

While children may reach the age where all they are required to use is a booster seat, experts agree that car seats with a 5-point harness are the best protection for children less than 100 pounds. The reason is this simple: the 5-point harness system is designed to distribute the forces of a car crash across the strongest bones of a child's body--the shoulders, chestbone and thigh bones--and minimize the strain placed on the child's neck and spine. The fact that a child has reached the minimum requirement to begin using a booster seat does not mean that it is the safest choice.

For more information on children's safety in cars, please see our September 30, 2010 post about car seats. We posted great videos that demonstrate what a difference a 5-point harness can make in a car crash.

Car Seat Safety – Protecting Our Children

In Georgia, automobile accidents are the leading cause of death and injuries for children ages 1 to 12 years. The lack or improper use of car seats is a significant contributor to this sobering statistic. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 40% of children under 6 who die or suffer debilitating injuries in automobile accidents are unrestrained or improperly restrained; however, when car seats are used correctly they are 71% effective in preventing injury among infants and 54% effective with children ages 1-4.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion concerning the proper restraining methods and what is required by Georgia law.

According to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1):

•ALL children under the age of six, regardless of how tall they are, must ride in the backseat of a car. A child is safer in the back and farthest away from the force of an airbag. Remember that airbags are designed to save adults, and since they deploy with great force they can be fatal to children.

•Children under the age of six are required to be in either a car seat or a booster seat suitable for their age and height.

•If there is not a back seat in the vehicle (e.g., a truck) or if other restrained children are in the back seat, Georgia law permits a child under the age of six to sit in front if restrained in the proper car seat or booster.

NHTSA recommends the following as a guideline for child seat safety. These guidelines are stronger than the current requirements of the State of Georgia.

Furthermore, we highly recommend that, until your child is the proper size to use a standard safety belt, your child should use a safety seat equipped with a 5 point harness. A 5 point harness is comprised of straps or webbing that extend over your child’s hips, shoulders/collar bones, and between their legs. These types of safety restraints more evenly distribute the force during impact which could save your child’s life in a crash. Please view this video to see why simple shoulder harnesses may not be sufficient to protect your child.

Also, it is very important to make sure that a child’s car seat is properly installed. The majority of parents believe that their child’s car seat is properly installed, but research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 8 out of 10 car seats are installed incorrectly.

As a guide, when a car seat is properly installed one should not be able to move the car seat more than one inch in any direction. The seatbelt should be threaded through the car seat and completely latched. The shoulder strap should be pulled all the way out until it clicks and then should be fed back into column. This will ensure that the car seat does not fly forward in the event of an emergency stop or accident. For more information on how to properly install a car seat, you can watch this video.

The Macon attorneys, at the Studstill Firm, we feel that the saddest injury cases we handle are cases involving children. The statistics are appalling and very sad when you think about the number of children whose lives and limbs could have been saved if they were only properly restrained. If you are unsure whether your child or the child of a friend or loved one is being properly restrained or if the car seat is properly secured, you can also stop by your local fire station or health clinic for tips.

- In Macon, GA you can go to Bibb County Health Dept. located at 171 Emery Highway
- In Warner Robins, GA you can go to Houston Healthcare located at 233 North Houston Rd. Suite 140, D
- In Valdosta, GA you can go to the fire station located at 106 South Oak Street
- In Tifton, GA you can go to the health department located at 305 12th Street East

Go to www.nhtsa.gov/cps/ for more locations across the nation.

For more information concerning car seat safety please visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/, http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/, http://www.carseat.org/, http://www.safekids.org/ and http://www.seatcheck.org/. You can also call 1-866-732-8243.