FDA Issues March 1 Weekly Update on OJ Imports and Carbendazim, Etc.
On March 1, 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 107 imported shipments of orange juice or orange juice concentrate. Of these, 78 shipments tested negative for carbendazim and 63 of these shipments have already been released. FDA found 27 samples that tested positive, and detained and/or refused these 27 shipments. Of these 27 samples, 14 were from Brazil shipments, 12 were from Canada shipments, and one was from a Dominican Republic shipment.
(See ITT's Online Archives 12022750 for summary of February 23, 2012 weekly 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 (Q&A) document on carbendazim and OJ products.)