FDA Holds OJ Imports Pending Fungicide Testing

By Cole Petrochko, Associate Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: January 12, 2012

WASHINGTON -- The FDA has turned off the spigot on foreign orange juice until it completes testing for the presence of a fungicide in OJ from processing plants outside the U.S. Earlier this week the FDA said it planned to step-up testing of orange juice after reports that orange juice from Brazil contained traces of the fungicide carbendazim, a chemical that is not approved for use by U.S. orange growers. The Brazilian government does permit the fungicide's use. In a letter sent to orange juice processors on Monday, the FDA explained that although the fungicide is not approved in the U.S -- and therefore does not have established tolerance levels -- the low levels of exposure detected by the Environmental Protection Agency's initial tests do not raise safety concerns. Although it has shut down import of orange juice, the FDA is not pulling any orange juice products from store shelves, pending additional testing. Orange juices that test positive for higher levels of the anti-fungal chemical will be removed, as will any imported juices tainted by carbendazim.