FDA Finds Fungicide in OJ Processing Plants
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at orange juice processing facilities in Florida, where massive tanks hold thousands of gallons of concentrate, have turned up low levels of the banned fungicide carbendazim.
The FDA took 14 samples and nine had measurable levels of carbendazim. Because the fungicide was found at levels far below the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety limits, the FDA “has determined that no action is needed to remove product from the market and that the orange juice consumed by the public does not pose safety concerns due to the low levels of carbendazim residues found in FDA testing.”
With shipments showing traces of carbendazim now being blocked at the border, the assumption is that the carbendazim levels will drop. Of 86 shipments tested at the border, 20 have been turned back after testing positive for carbendazim.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio