Testing, testing: what’s happening with Australian food safety standards?

Despite initially claiming that we had no need of testing imported orange juice for carbendazim, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has announced that the juice will be tested at Australia’s borders, while continuing to insist that low levels of the fungicide in orange juice are harmless. Meanwhile, the Australian citrus industry seems to have taken advantage of the media attention to urge consumers to seek out Australian citrus in favour of imported products.

FSANZ has based its arguments on Australian standards for carbendazim residue levels that are more relaxed than those in the US and EU; the Australian citrus industry is doing it tough and cannot produce juice cheaply enough to compete with imported juice. So what’s going on? We explore some of the issues behind the story.

The state of the States

Since commencing testing, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported that 80 samples of imported orange juice have been collected for analysis. Of these, 29 samples were compliant with US standards for carbendazim levels. The FDA can detect carbendazim levels as low as 10 ppb; any samples with 10 ppb or more are refused entry to the US. 11 samples tested positive for the fungicide, of which six were from Canada and five from Brazil. Those with a positive reading showed carbendazim levels ranging from 10 to 52 ppb.

The American authorities don’t seem overly concerned about orange juice already in circulation. The FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods said, “The levels being reported for orange juice products already in the United States were far below any level that would pose a safety concern,” stating that a product recall would not be necessary and encouraging consumers to continue drinking orange juice.

In addition, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) risk assessment concluded that “there is no public health concern from drinking orange juice containing carbendazim at reported levels”, a statement on its website said.

Juicy happenings Down Under

As news of FSANZ’s response to the carbendazim situation in the US reached the Australian media, sensationalist headlines abounded. “Toxic orange juice alert follows US warning of fungicide,” wrote the Courier-Mail. A Current Affair published an article beginning with the alarming sentence, “It is unlabeled [sic], dangerous and on our supermarket shelves.” Even the Sydney Morning Herald jumped on the bandwagon: “Chemical scare sparks call for juice import tests.” FSANZ was roundly criticised for not recommending increased testing of imported orange juice.

One vocal critic of FSANZ’s response was Citrus Australia, the peak body for citrus growers in Australia. It issued a media release on 13 January calling for increased testing.

On 18 January, FSANZ issued a statement advising that “oranges and orange juice sold in Australia will not be permitted to contain any carbendazim after the existing permissions are revoked in the first quarter of 2012”. The statement stressed that the levels found in the US were well within internationally accepted limits and that consumers should not be concerned about carbendazim levels in juice.

Citrus Australia’s Chief Executive Judith Damiani used both the organisation’s first press release and its second, “welcoming” the news that testing is being increased, as platforms from which to promote Australian citrus. Both press releases urge consumers to buy Australian oranges and orange juice in order to avoid contact with carbendazim. Damiani even attempted to harness Australian patriotism to plug the industry: “Make sure you buy Aussie juice or Aussie Valencia oranges for your breakfast or BBQ on Australia Day!”

Fruit Juice Australia issued a media release in October 2011 mentioning a shopper survey that “found that price is a more determining factor than origin” and “around half of Australian grocery buyers (47%) don’t care where food comes from as long as it is good quality and reasonably priced and 56% think imported food keeps Australian prices competitive”. In a consumer climate such as this, is it any wonder the citrus industry is seizing any opportunity to promote Australian produce? Both of Citrus Australia’s press releases had the feel of marketing material, each concluding with a list of recommended brands that use the Aussie Grown endorsement logo - supported by Citrus Australia, of course.

Despite the changes to testing of imported orange juice concentrate in Australia, FSANZ continues to argue that carbendazim levels in orange juice don’t pose a risk to consumers’ health. “A 70 kg adult would have to drink around 150 litres of orange juice in a day before going over the safe level,” a media release on FSANZ’s website declared. The changes to Australian standards mean that now no oranges or orange juice sold in Australia will be permitted to contain carbendazim. So why does FSANZ continue to insist on the safety of current carbendazim levels in juice? Surely if they were acceptable, current standards would not need to be altered.

Is this a case of FSANZ attempting to save face? Or should the EPA’s assessment that the levels found in US juice are non-threatening be enough to convince consumers that the old Australian standards were sufficient?

Only time will tell whether this has been a genuine scare, or merely a storm in a teacup. Or juice box.

This article is an update. To read the original article, click here.