Brazil: Criticism over handling of carbendazim scandal
He points out that both Brazil and the US rely each other to ensure the success of their respective orange juice industries and that many jobs are dependent on this. There has been symbiosis in the relationship between the two countries industries for over 40 years he says.
He says the issue has come at a bad time for orange juice as its position is being challenged by a wide range of new fruit juice alternatives emanating from prominent brands.
He says more consensus is required by the two countries, especially in managing production and stock to ensure a stabilisation of prices.
He stresses a point that seems to be being made more and more - that the levels found in the US, that are generating so much attention and causing so much fuss, are well below the safe levels and would be accepted in most of the rest of the world. A lot of what is being said about orange juice at the moment is due to media hype, he insinuates.
He also points out that once the so called contaminated juice was mixed with American produced fruit juice, as it would be had it been allowed into the country, it would be even further diluted than when it was tested.
"This is a registration issue and not a health one," he says.
Source: www.chinadaily.com.c
