FDA Issues Feb 23 Weekly Update on OJ Imports and Carbendazim, Etc.
On February 23, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration issued a weekly update to the trade on its sampling of imported orange juice products that may be contaminated with the fungicide carbendazim. This update, as well as those from prior weeks, is in the form of an "add on" to a February 2 addendum to a letter to the Juice Products Association. FDA is no longer sampling imported juice from domestic manufacturers.
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FDA states that it has collected samples from 106 imported shipments of orange juice or orange juice concentrate. Of these, 77 shipments tested negative for carbendazim and 58 of these shipments have already been released. FDA found 24 samples that tested positive (no change from last week), and detained and/or refused these 24 shipments. Of the 24 samples, 12 were shipments from Canada and 12 were from Brazil.
(See ITT's Online Archives 12021051 for summary of February 9, 2012 update. See ITT's Online Archives 12020621 for summary of FDA's February 2 addendum to the January 9 letter to JPA, which also recapped the prior weekly updates. See ITT’s Online Archives 12012344 for summary of FDA’s January 20, 2012 update on OJ. See ITT’s Online Archives 12012029 for summary of FDA’s question and answer document on carbendazim and OJ products. See ITT’s Online Archives 12011704 for summary of FDA’s first weekly update on OJ imports and carbendazim. See ITT's Online Archives 12011221 for summary of FDA's January 9 letter to the JPA stating that it was denying entry to orange juice product imports if they contained carbendazim.)
(The sampling of imported juice from domestic manufacturers concluded with the February 2 update.)