Traces of fungicide found in Pepsi Co Inc's Tropicana juice

Chicago, Jan 16: Traces of fungicide have been found in the company tests of Tropicana Orange juice, said PepsiCo Inc.

The company, however, said that the levels found were below federal safety concerns and did not pose any health risk.

The company also said that additional tests were being conducted after the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, Jan 11 announced that the imports of the orange juice would be stopped temporarily and any juice with the traces of the fungicide carbendazim would be removed.

The news came into light after Coca-Cola Co, maker of Minute Maid Orange juice, said that it found carbendazim in shipments from Brazil and alerted the US authorities about the same.

Carbendazim is used in Brazil to fight blossom back blight and black spot, a mold that grows on orange trees. The use is however limited in US and used in items such as textiles and ornamental trees and paints.

"The results we have to date confirm that the levels of fungicide in the imported Brazilian juice we tested are below the levels the agencies said raise safety concerns," said PepsiCo.

"We will continue to test, as we take this matter seriously, and we're working aggressively to address any concerns," said the company.

The US health regulators on Friday cleared the shipments of orange juice to the country since Jan 4, when the matter was brought to light and authorities started testing for the presence of fungicide in juice products from Brazil.

The fact that three samples of Canadian orange juice were negative were confirmed by the FDA's final tests for the fungicide carbendazim.

OneIndia News