Eleven orange juice shipments to the United States since January 4 have been stopped by the Food and Drug Administration for unacceptable levels of carbendazim, a pesticide that is not legal for use on oranges in the United States. The agency is continuing to monitor imports and domestic production of orange juice for this chemical.
Six of the tainted shipments were from Canada and five were from Brazil. In all, FDA inspectors have examined 45 import samples of orange juice this year. Fourteen domestic samples also have been taken and currently are in process in the agency’s labs.
For a sample to be judged positive for carbendazim, it must contain 10 parts per billion or more of the pesticide. Each sample represents one shipment. Of the eleven positive shipments, nine have been detained. In the two other cases, the manufacturers decided not to import the product into the United States. The detained shipments must be destroyed within 90 days.
The results of the testing program were announced by FDA in a letter to the Juice Products Association, a copy of which was obtained by Food Poisoning Bulletin.
The FDA letter said the agency is confident that orange juice in the United States may be consumed without concerns about its safety due to the possible presence of such residues.
Mysterious. Any idea which brands ,or where in Canada they might have come from? As far I know, oranges don’t grow in Canada.
You’re right; oranges don’t grow in Canada. But they do import orange juice concentrate from Brazil; that country uses carbendazim. And then Canadian producers use the concentrate to make “single strength” orange juice that they export to the U.S. Our food certainly can take some unexpected paths!