During the month of December, the Food and Drug Administration was contacted by an anonymous juice company that said they detected low levels of the fungicide carbendazim in the company’s own orange juice. They also found fungi in their competitors’ juice. Fungicides are used to control fungi or fungal spores in agriculture.
FDA officials will step up testing for a fungicide that has been found in low levels in orange juice. Investors are reportedly concerned that increased testing could pinch juice supplies which Robert Rutger, an analyst at Trans World Futures, says could send prices higher. Nega Beru, an official with the FDA, says that the levels of residue are not harmful enough to remove orange juice from the shelves, but the agency will begin testing shipments of orange juice at the border. The use of carbendazim in food is illegal in the United States.
