Banned fungicide found in U.S. orange juice was federally approved for use on oranges as recently as 2009, is OK to use on several other U.S. fruit crops, records show

Nevin Barich

LOS ANGELES , January 23, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) – Records show that a banned fungicide recently found in U.S. orange juice was federally approved for use on oranges as recently as 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 20.

The fungicide — carbendazim — is also considered safe for dozens of other U.S. crops. The reason it’s currently banned in orange juice is because the approval for it had expired and it was never sought to be reapproved for use on orange crops.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), carbendazim is currently OK for use on apricots, bananas, cherries, grapes, peaches and pears, and can be used in small amounts in apple juice.

While the EPA is tasked with approving fungicides and setting safety tolerances for residues, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes sure the food industry complies.

The primary source of this article is The Wall Street Journal, New York, New York, on Jan. 20, 2012.

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