"Orange" You Glad I Didn't Say Fungicide?

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:55:12 GMT

By Venessa Owsley

naldzgraphics
Who knew something so sweet could be hiding something so bitter?

It may surprise you to know that most orange juice in the United States actually comes from Brazil, and your confusion would be understood. In order to tell whether or not the juice that you consume is really from America, you would have to look very closely at the label. Even companies that advertise their juice as “Florida Orange Juice” may have orange juice from Mexico or Brazil. It is crucial to know where your food comes from because different countries have different health codes and regulations, and some of these regulations may be faulty. In Brazil, there is a fungus that grows on orange trees. In order to control this fungus, Brazilian farmers use a fungicide on these trees. As a result some of the oranges have been contaminated. Even though the Food and Drug Administration (or FDA) has stated that these low levels of fungicide contain no health concerns, they are still testing each shipment of orange juice entering the United States. This is horrible news for orange farmers, who had an awful season with oranges to begin with, now prices are plummeting as demand for orange juice is rapidly decreasing.