Buzz
Shopping for fruit juice at the grocery store can be more perplexing than it seems. What’s truly inside that ‘100% juice’? And why does that ‘juice’ have the word ‘cocktail’ hanging around? Let’s explore the intriguing world of juice labeling.
What exactly does the term “100% juice” signify?
As you might expect, this label legally means that everything in the bottle or carton has been derived from a fruit or vegetable. Sounds simple, right? Well, not exactly. It’s a bit more complex. The “100% juice” label confirms that everything inside came from a fruit or vegetable, though not necessarily the one you might think you’re drinking.
So, what fruits are actually in the bottle?
Juice manufacturers face a dilemma. Premium fruit juices are tasty, but they also come with a hefty price tag. It’s hard to keep costs low when squeezing a lot of expensive fruits to make a single bottle. To cut costs, companies dilute their juices with cheaper options like white grape, apple, or pear. The final product is still 100% fruit juice, but it may not be from the fruit you expected.
How can you determine what’s really in the bottle?
The FDA has an array of complex naming and labeling rules that would be too difficult to remember; the language in these regulations can seem as convoluted as tax law. The simplest way to figure out what you’re truly drinking is to check the ingredients list instead of relying solely on the product name.
What about the fruit cocktails and ‘drinks’ lining the shelves?
These drinks are an entirely different category. Unless a beverage is labeled as 100% juice, the FDA prevents companies from calling it juice without meeting additional requirements. If a drink contains less than 100% juice, the FDA mandates that the term 'juice' be paired with words like 'beverage,' 'drink,' or 'cocktail.'
What other drinks must state their juice percentage?
Surprisingly, certain bar mixes are legally required to disclose the percentage of juice they contain. According to FDA regulations, if a bar mix 'claims to contain juice,' it must indicate the percentage of juice in the final product. For instance, the FDA notes that 'Bloody Mary mix, by appearance and taste, suggests it contains tomato juice and thus must include a statement about the percentage of juice.'
The same applies to strawberry daiquiri mix, but only if 'its label or packaging features images of juice dripping from strawberries or if the product looks and tastes as though it contains strawberry juice or pulp.' If the product is marketed as 'strawberry-flavored daiquiri mix,' it’s exempt from these labeling requirements.
Are there any other exceptions to the labeling rules?
The FDA doesn't mandate companies to disclose the juice percentage if it's only a small amount used for flavoring, and the product doesn't have any visual cues, like pulp, that would lead a consumer to believe it contains fruit juice. This is how a beverage like Mountain Dew can avoid revealing how much orange juice is actually in it. (So much for our plan of using Mountain Dew to fend off colds.)
