On February 27, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a February 23, 2012 version of its chart listing the sample-by-sample results of its testing of imported orange juice products that may be contaminated with the fungicide carbendazim. The chart lists the (1) sample number, (2) collection date, (3) declared country of origin, (4) type of product, (5) sample result for carbendazim, (6) action, and (7) date of action. For example, the first entry is for imported sample number 735384 and states that the orange juice concentrate was collected on January 19, 2012, the declared country of origin was Canada, that 20-25 ppb of carbendazim was found, and that the shipment was refused entry on February 17. FDA chart (dated 02/23/12) listing its import samplings by number, product, and carbendazim levels are available here.

On February 23, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration issued a weekly update to the trade on its sampling of imported orange juice products that may be contaminated with the fungicide carbendazim. This update, as well as those from prior weeks, is in the form of an "add on" to a February 2 addendum to a letter to the Juice Products Association. FDA is no longer sampling imported juice from domestic manufacturers.

On February 24, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:

The Food and Drug Administration issued its weekly Enforcement Report for February 22, 2012 that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.

On February 23, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:

The Food and Drug Administration has stated that it is not aware of any brand of infant formula containing organic brown rice syrup (OBRS), although one brand of toddler formula uses OBRS as a sweetener. The label for this product, however, states that it is for use in children older than 12 months, and also warns that a health care professional should be consulted before using it for infants under 12 months of age. FDA's statement was made due to concerns of trace amounts of arsenic in foods. In response to these concerns, FDA has expanded its surveillance activities in rice. FDA began a further study of arsenic in rice and rice products in October 2011 to determine the level and types of arsenic typically found in these products. According to the FDA, the study is scheduled to be complete in Spring 2012.

In remarks at the Global Food Safety Conference in Orlando, FL on February 16, 2012, Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael R. Taylor stated that the FDA will soon be publishing several proposed rules to implement parts of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The five highest priority rules will relate to third-party certification, foreign supplier verification, preventative controls at human food and animal feed production facilities, and produce safety. Taylor stated that the FDA hopes to publish the third-party certification proposed rule in March.

On February 22, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:

The Food and Drug Administration has issued an interim final rule, effective March 1, 2012, regarding its expanded access to the records of persons that manufacture, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, hold, or import food, as authorized by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Comments on the interim final rule are due by May 23, 2012. The FDA intends to finalize the interim rule one year from the close of the comment period.