New York, January 29 (FinanceEnquiry.com) - Nearly 14 percent of imported orange juice has been seized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since early this month, over the presence of trace amounts of a fungicide, Carbendazim.

However, an FDA spokeswoman said that it was not a safety problem because the juice was safe to drink. The seizure had taken place because Carbendazim is banned in the US. The issue is mainly regulatory. FDA said that there are no plans for a wholesale recall of orange juice. It is also testing orange juice products produced in the U.S. and the results will be released next week.

FDA started testing imported orange juice in liquid and concentrated form on January 4 after Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) reported that it found fungicide in its juice and rival juices. Minute Maid and Simply Orange are the orange juice brands distributed by the company. Coca Cola said Friday that all their products are safe and wholesome.

Samples from 80 shipments have been collected by the FDA since they started testing. Six shipments are from Canada and five from Brazil. In 2010, $438 million worth of orange juice was imported by the U.S. The seized orange juice products would be held by the FDA for up to 90 days, during which the shippers can either take them back or destroy them.