As we reported in yesterday's Dispatch, TV's Dr. Oz has been under fire for his season-opening publicity stunt, in which he claimed that the arsenic levels found in apple juice may be cause for concern. Almost immediately, however, the FDA came out against Dr. Oz's senseless allegations, pointing out that his science was flawed and his findings were misleading. And CBS s Dr. Besser continues to publicly take Dr. Oz to task for his baseless claims about arsenic in apple juice. Yet even after authoritative experts nationwide publicly criticized Dr. Oz's inaccurate analysis of apple juice arsenic levels, an online CBS poll found that over 60 percent of respondents were still on the doctor's side, while slightly over 35 percent believed the evidence-based science.
The survey results were of particular concern to ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, who observes that this mass cult-like belief in Dr. Oz will certainly influence ACSH's work in terms of future food scare stories. We always rely on reason, science, and facts but look at what we're up against! She adds, People will still continue to believe incredible nonsense despite having the FDA hardly an industry front as well as every credible scientist on the record, point out the flaws in Dr. Oz's so-called study.
The arsenic levels present in apple juice are minuscule and will not affect anyone's health. People should realize that arsenic is ubiquitous, found in drinking water, potatoes, soil, and rocks adds ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross.
But as ACSH's Cheryl Martin aptly points out, Dr. Oz has a huge following and people will still believe him because they are naively under the impression that he has nothing to gain, and only the public's best interests in mind. If only it were so.
ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava adds, I wish the media would give as much coverage to the debunking of other food scares (for example, the dangers of pesticides on fruits and vegetables, and of high-fructose corn syrup) as they did to this apple juice scare by Dr. Oz.
