FDA Increases Fungicide Testing Of Foreign Orange Juice

FDA Increases Fungicide Testing Of Foreign Orange Juice

The US Food and Drug Administration has increased the number of orange juice samples it says it will test for the fungicide carbendazim, which isn’t approved for use on oranges in the U.S.

The federal agency said it will test a total of 80 samples of orange juice imports–nearly double the number from a week ago–for the fungicide.

The FDA began testing imports for carbendazim after Coca-Cola Co. (KO), which produces the Simply Orange and Minute Maid brands, found the fungicide in orange juice it and a competitor imported from Brazil. Coke reported the finding to the FDA on Dec. 28.

Last week, the FDA released its first batch of results, saying 19 samples had tested negative. But the samples didn’t include Brazilian juice concentrate.

However, Siobhan DeLancey, an FDA spokeswoman, said only results of samples that tested negative for any trace of the chemical were released. She declined to comment on whether Brazilian orange juice tested positive for the chemical. The FDA will release more test results at 10 a.m. Friday, DeLancey said.

If the juice tests positive for carbendazim, the company that planned to use it can either pay for it to be sent back to its origin, or have the FDA dispose of it.

The FDA is also testing orange juice samples at factories where juice for consumers is made, but results haven’t yet been released.

Worries that a crackdown would curb U.S. supplies of orange juice sent futures prices of frozen concentrate to a record high this week. The March contract on ICE hit $2.2695 a pound on Monday. The contract was recently trading at $2.0625 a pound, down 0.2% on the day.