FDA Issues April 5 Monthly Update and Chart on OJ Imports and Carbendazim, Etc.
On April 5, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration issued a monthly update to the trade on its sampling of imported orange juice products that may be contaminated with the fungicide carbendazim, which began on January 4, 2012. This update, as well as prior updates, is in the form of an addendum to a January 9, 2012 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 to date collected samples from 144 imported shipments of orange juice or orange juice concentrate. Of these, 103 shipments tested negative for carbendazim and all of these shipments have already been released. FDA found 30 samples that tested positive, and detained and/or refused all of these shipments. Of these 30 samples, 14 were from Brazil shipments, 12 were from Canada shipments, and one each was from a Dominican Republic shipment and a Poland shipment.
Updated FDA chart detailing status of samples, updated April 5, available here.
(From January 13 to March 1, 2012, the FDA provided weekly updates on its sampling of imported orange juice that may be contaminated with carbendazim. Starting with the March 1 update sample updates are provided on the first Thursday of each month. See ITT's Online Archives 12030856 for summary of March 1, 2012 update. See ITT’s Online Archives 12012029 for summary of FDA’s question and answer (Q&A) document on carbendazim and OJ products.)