When a product is harmful or defective, companies should remove it from the market in order to protect people from getting hurt or sick. In Illinois, when a product is proven to be defective, a product liability case can be brought against the company.

It is similar with dangerous or harmful foods as well. When an unapproved fungicide was recently detected in imported orange juice, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported it will halt, destroy, or ban all defective product imports.

A Brazil-approved fungicide chemical named carbendazim has been detected in trace amounts in orange juice products that contain juice from Brazilian oranges. Carbendazim is not approved to be used on citrus in the United States, but has been approved to be used on other products. It is used on certain foods to prevent the black spot fungus. The fungus is harmless but it makes food look less appealing.

Although there is no concern with consumption of certain smaller levels of cabendazim, the FDA says it will remove any juice from the market if it has a high level of the chemical. It was also announced that the there will be increased testing on carbendazim after it was discovered that it may pose a high risk of creating tumor growth in animals. The results of this testing could be available this month.

No further actions are planned by the FDA to remove orange juice containing the low levels of carbendazim from the marketplace. However, a public alert to remove all products from the market will be announced if it is found.

Source: USA Today, "FDA halts orange juice imports over fungicide concern," Michael Winter, Jan. 11, 2012