The FDA has temporarily halted all imports of foreign orange juice because of fears that some foreign orange juice contains traces of carbendazim, a fungicide banned in the U.S.. They are especially concerned about juice imported from Brazil.
Fungicides, like carbendazim, are used to control fungi or fungal spores in agriculture. It is still legal to use in Brazil and the European Union even allows foods to contain up to 200 parts per billion of this fungicide. This fungicide was used as recently as 2008 on Florida oranges. But, the FDA banned the use of carbendazim in all food products after studies linked it to increased rates of cancers and infertility.
Experts are concerned about the response of consumers to this ban. If consumers stop buying orange juice, prices for both imported and U.S. grown citrus could be adversely affected. Of course, if savvy consumers boycott only imported orange juice and fresh fruit, demand for U.S. citrus may see a healthy spike. That would be a good thing for U.S. growers.
“But the real winner could turn out to be the U.S. organic grower as consumers attempt to avoid chemical treatment of commercial citrus altogether,” says Dr. Juan Anciso of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. “It could be a good time to be in the organic orange business.”
