Fungicide in orange juice: Do you know where your juice comes from?
Fungicide in orange juice imported from Brazil? Don't get me started about importing food products we grow perfectly well right here in the US.
I recently noted the Chinese domination of the US garlic market. And, of course, here in the land of apple pie we also get most of our our apple juice (delivered in a crystallized concentrate) from China.
So, it should be no surprise that the major US brands of orange juice rely on oranges from another country - mainly Brazil. And that would one day that would become an issue. The fungicide used in Brazil, which is banned in this country, was detected by Coca-Cola (maker of Minute Maid and Simply Orange) and is also a concern for Pepsico (maker of rival Tropicana).
As it is with apple juice, it's often not terribly clear where the orange juice you're drinking is coming from. The companies list a collection of potential countries of origin, which usually include Brazil and the US. And also like apple juice, you're not completely out of luck if you want to buy American. Florida's Natural, for instance, comes from, well, Florida.
Buying American is no guarantee that all is going to be well, but it usually feels like the right thing to do.
About the author
Mitch Lipka is one of America's leading consumer journalists and advocates. He is an expert in product safety, recalls, scams, and helping consumers get out of jams. He is a nationally known consumer columnist and runs TheConsumerChronicle.com. He lives in Worcester. You can find him on Facebook or reach him at ConsumerNews@Aol.com
