Is Fungicide in Your Orange Juice?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it will increase testing for a fungicide that has been found in orange juice. In a letter to the juice industry, the agency said that an unnamed juice company claims to have detected low levels of the fungicide carbendazim in its own orange juice and in a competitors’ juice. Fungicides are chemicals that destroy fungi and or their spores.
 
FDA officials said that they are not concerned about the safety of the juice, and the increased testing is only to make certain that the contamination is not a problem. Carbendazim is not approved for use on citrus in the United States, so any amount of residue is considered illegal. Brazil, which exports oranges to the United States, does allow and use the chemical.
 
Shipments of orange juice will be tested at the border, and those with any trace of the fungicide will be detained.
 
“EMSL Analytical’s dedicated and knowledgeable food division tests for fungicide and also offers FDA Import Detention Services, working with the FDA to coordinate sample collection and analysis,” states Joy DellAringa, M.S., RM (NRM), CFSP, National Food Microbiology Supervisor at EMSL.
 
For more information on EMSL’s food testing services, please contact EMSL at (800) 220-3675, email info@emsl.com, or visit www.EMSL.com or www.FoodTestingLab.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical, Inc. is a full service testing company providing quality lab services under the same private ownership since 1981. Including the corporate lab facility in Cinnaminson, NJ, EMSL Analytical operates over thirty laboratories nationwide in the US and Canada. We provide analytical services for environmental, indoor air quality (IAQ), industrial hygiene, forensics and materials science, consumer products, food safety, PCR, pharmaceutical, asbestos, lead, and radiological samples. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations, as well as state and federal regulating bodies. Please see our website for a complete listing of accreditations.

Contact Information

Joseph Frasca

Senior VP of Marketing

EMSL Analytical, Inc.

(1) 1-800-220-3675

jfrasca@emsl.com