MNeagle
11th January 2012, 11:41 AM
FDA halts all orange juice imports over safety concerns - Bloomberg
U.S. regulators have halted shipments of imported (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)orange juice (http://topics.bloomberg.com/orange-juice/) from all countries, and plan to destroy or ban products if tests find even low levels from a prohibited fungicide. Initial test results are due this week.
The imports are being held while they are tested and may be sold if levels are below trace amounts, according to the U.S. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov/).
The fungicide, linked in studies to increased risk of liver tumors in animals, was found in trace amounts last month in orange juice products from Brazil, which produces about 41 percent of U.S. imports, according to census data. While the chemical, carbendazim, is used in crops in many countries, it isn’t approved for use in the U.S. on oranges.
The (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov/) also is screening juice that’s already for sale in the U.S. market. That’s because products often contain a mixture of imported and domestic juice, said (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Siobhan DeLancey (http://topics.bloomberg.com/siobhan-delancey/), an agency spokeswoman. Americans consumed 1.2 million gallons from the 2009-2010 growing season, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed.
If levels posing a risk to consumers are found, the agency will inform the public and “take the necessary action to ensure that the product is removed from the market,” she said in an e- mail.
Concerns about the pesticide started Dec. 28 when the FDA learned that an unnamed juice company had detected low levels in its own and other products, according to letter from the agency to the Juice Products Association, a Washington trade group. The fungicide was found in products from Brazil’s 2011 crop.
The agency hasn’t previously tested for the chemical because it didn’t pose a risk, DeLancey said. The unnamed company that reported finding the chemical has been tracking the compound for several years, she said.
Minute Maid Response
“Brazilian orange juice is safe and always has been,” said Dan Schafer, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based Coca Cola Co., which owns the Minute Maid brand, in an e-mail. “Second, this is an issue that impacts every company that produces products in the U.S. containing orange juice from (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Brazil (http://topics.bloomberg.com/brazil/).”
Orange juice futures rose the most in five years after the FDA investigation was announced, combined with freezing weather that’s damaged citrus crops in (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Florida (http://topics.bloomberg.com/florida/).
The “test and hold” policy extends to all juice imports, not only those from Brazil, and the FDA doesn’t believe levels reported so far pose a public health risk, Delancey said,
The agency expects initial testing to be complete by the end of the week, DeLancey said. Imported juice that tests at concentrations of 10 parts per billion or higher will be refused or destroyed, DeLancey said.
EPA’s Benchmark
For products on the market, the benchmark is below 80 parts per billion because the U.S. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/) rules out safety concerns at that level, said Dale Kemery, a spokesman for the agency. This level is 1,000 to 3,000 times lower than concentrations that would indicate a health concern, he said in an e-mail.
“Based on monitoring data provided to EPA by FDA, the EPA has no reason to expect that residues of carbendazim in oranges grown in Brazil would ever approach levels that would raise safety concerns,” Kemery wrote.
Carbendazim is used in plant disease control and Drinking orange juice with the levels of carbendazim reported “does not raise safety concerns,” according to the FDA letter to the industry trade group.
Consumer Risk
The testing for fungicide raises concerns about consumer risk from imported juice, said Patty Lovera, assistant director of the Washington-based Food and Water Watch, an advocacy group that works to ensure safe, accessible and sustainable food.
“We think FDA needs to do more inspections of imported food, including juice,” Lovera said in an interview. “We’re glad they will be testing for this fungicide, but we would like there to be standards they could enforce for residue levels in food --for this chemical and others, like arsenic or lead that have been found in other juices.”
Ten percent of 88 samples of apple and grape juice tested had total arsenic levels exceeding federal drinking water standards, according to a November report by (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Consumer Reports (http://topics.bloomberg.com/consumer-reports/).
As consumer groups called for new guidelines on the chemical, the FDA this year enhanced its surveillance for arsenic in apple juice. The FDA is working with the Environmental Protection Agency on steps the agencies can take to reduce overall levels in food, according to the agency.
Brazilian growers expressed frustration with the testing. “Our main concern is how this move will affect consumption and image of our product,” said Flavio Viegas, head of Brazil’s citrus growers association, known as Associtrus, said.
“Carbemdazim is widely accepted for other crops, including apples, which are consumed fresh,” he said in a phone interview from Bebedouro, Brazil. “I don’t understand what’s the deal with frozen concentrated orange juice.” Associtrus represents about 1,300 orange growers in Brazil.
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)
U.S. regulators have halted shipments of imported (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)orange juice (http://topics.bloomberg.com/orange-juice/) from all countries, and plan to destroy or ban products if tests find even low levels from a prohibited fungicide. Initial test results are due this week.
The imports are being held while they are tested and may be sold if levels are below trace amounts, according to the U.S. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov/).
The fungicide, linked in studies to increased risk of liver tumors in animals, was found in trace amounts last month in orange juice products from Brazil, which produces about 41 percent of U.S. imports, according to census data. While the chemical, carbendazim, is used in crops in many countries, it isn’t approved for use in the U.S. on oranges.
The (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov/) also is screening juice that’s already for sale in the U.S. market. That’s because products often contain a mixture of imported and domestic juice, said (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Siobhan DeLancey (http://topics.bloomberg.com/siobhan-delancey/), an agency spokeswoman. Americans consumed 1.2 million gallons from the 2009-2010 growing season, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed.
If levels posing a risk to consumers are found, the agency will inform the public and “take the necessary action to ensure that the product is removed from the market,” she said in an e- mail.
Concerns about the pesticide started Dec. 28 when the FDA learned that an unnamed juice company had detected low levels in its own and other products, according to letter from the agency to the Juice Products Association, a Washington trade group. The fungicide was found in products from Brazil’s 2011 crop.
The agency hasn’t previously tested for the chemical because it didn’t pose a risk, DeLancey said. The unnamed company that reported finding the chemical has been tracking the compound for several years, she said.
Minute Maid Response
“Brazilian orange juice is safe and always has been,” said Dan Schafer, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based Coca Cola Co., which owns the Minute Maid brand, in an e-mail. “Second, this is an issue that impacts every company that produces products in the U.S. containing orange juice from (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Brazil (http://topics.bloomberg.com/brazil/).”
Orange juice futures rose the most in five years after the FDA investigation was announced, combined with freezing weather that’s damaged citrus crops in (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Florida (http://topics.bloomberg.com/florida/).
The “test and hold” policy extends to all juice imports, not only those from Brazil, and the FDA doesn’t believe levels reported so far pose a public health risk, Delancey said,
The agency expects initial testing to be complete by the end of the week, DeLancey said. Imported juice that tests at concentrations of 10 parts per billion or higher will be refused or destroyed, DeLancey said.
EPA’s Benchmark
For products on the market, the benchmark is below 80 parts per billion because the U.S. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/) rules out safety concerns at that level, said Dale Kemery, a spokesman for the agency. This level is 1,000 to 3,000 times lower than concentrations that would indicate a health concern, he said in an e-mail.
“Based on monitoring data provided to EPA by FDA, the EPA has no reason to expect that residues of carbendazim in oranges grown in Brazil would ever approach levels that would raise safety concerns,” Kemery wrote.
Carbendazim is used in plant disease control and Drinking orange juice with the levels of carbendazim reported “does not raise safety concerns,” according to the FDA letter to the industry trade group.
Consumer Risk
The testing for fungicide raises concerns about consumer risk from imported juice, said Patty Lovera, assistant director of the Washington-based Food and Water Watch, an advocacy group that works to ensure safe, accessible and sustainable food.
“We think FDA needs to do more inspections of imported food, including juice,” Lovera said in an interview. “We’re glad they will be testing for this fungicide, but we would like there to be standards they could enforce for residue levels in food --for this chemical and others, like arsenic or lead that have been found in other juices.”
Ten percent of 88 samples of apple and grape juice tested had total arsenic levels exceeding federal drinking water standards, according to a November report by (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)Consumer Reports (http://topics.bloomberg.com/consumer-reports/).
As consumer groups called for new guidelines on the chemical, the FDA this year enhanced its surveillance for arsenic in apple juice. The FDA is working with the Environmental Protection Agency on steps the agencies can take to reduce overall levels in food, according to the agency.
Brazilian growers expressed frustration with the testing. “Our main concern is how this move will affect consumption and image of our product,” said Flavio Viegas, head of Brazil’s citrus growers association, known as Associtrus, said.
“Carbemdazim is widely accepted for other crops, including apples, which are consumed fresh,” he said in a phone interview from Bebedouro, Brazil. “I don’t understand what’s the deal with frozen concentrated orange juice.” Associtrus represents about 1,300 orange growers in Brazil.
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/fda-halts-orange-juice-imports-to-check-for-banned-fungicide-carpendazim.html)