Antimony levels in fruit juice a concern, say scientists

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have found high levels of antimony in fruit juices that give cause for concern, according to an article published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Journal of Environmental Monitoring . The RSC says antimony trioxide, a suspected carcinogen, is used as a catalyst in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used to make beverage containers.

Previous studies have measured the amount of antimony leaching into bottled water, but the scientists speculated that as citric acid is known to be an efficient antimony extractant, acidic fruit drinks could leach more antimony than water from PET.

The levels of antimony in the fruit juices exceeded the EU limits for antimony in drinking water, but no limits exist for foodstuffs. The team was unable to identify the source of the contamination, which, says the RSC, could arise from the packaging material quality, the drinks production process or from sugar-aided extraction.

• Scientific paper
• RSC statement