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What’s in America’s orange juice?
By Lauren | January 11, 2012
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Tropicana orange juice producer Pepsico Inc. didn’t notify the Food and Drug Administration that there was a fungicide called carbendazim in its orange juice. According to the Journal, another juice company reported to the FDA that it found low levels of the carbendazim in its own orange juice and that of a competitor. The FDA didn’t identify the other company to protect its confidentiality. However, since Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsico reported control almost two-thirds of the U.S. orange juice market, one needn’t be a rocket scientist to make an educated guess about where the report came from.
Carbendazim isn’t approved for use on food plants in the U.S., but the FDA reportedly said the fungicide was used on the 2011 Brazilian orange crop. Brazilian oranges comprise about 12.5% of the U.S. orange-juice concentrate supply, so that’s probably how low levels of carbendazim snuck into Tropicana’s juice. Yes, it was reportedly at a “low level,” whatever that means, but since carbendazim has been linked to infertility and testicular damage in lab animals, it’s not a substance that any of us would probably be eager to consume.
This story troubles me on several counts. First, if there’s a potentially dangerous contaminant in its orange juice, shouldn’t Pepsico have reported it? Second, whatever company did report it apparently gets rewarded by the FDA with a pledge of confidentiality. In a time when businesses are strongly encouraged to be more transparent, how is the FDA’s approach a good thing? And, for that matter, if the reporting company turned Pepsico in for some competitive purpose, shouldn’t Pepsico know who blew the whistle? And what is the FDA doing to safeguard consumers - especially children - from drinking contaminated orange juice? And if the amount of fungicide in the orange juice is too small to matter, why would the Journal go to the trouble of publishing the story?
There’s so much going on in the world right now that the safety of our nation’s food supply probably isn’t anywhere near the top of most politicians’ list of priorities. This isn’t the first time questions have arisen about contaminants in our food, however, and it’s troubling that, once again, there don’t seem to be satisfactory answers. For whatever reason, it appears that the FDA may not be able to ensure the safety of the food Americans eat, and that’s all the more reason for food producers to do a better job of policing themselves. Juice producers shouldn’t buy imported oranges that are tainted with fungicide, even if it means they have to raise their prices or decrease the supply.
To read the Journal article, click here.
Topics: Business Ethics, Risk Management, Social Ethics, corporate responsibility, customer relations, ethics |