Why is This Not on Your Bottle of Orange Juice?
Well, if you haven’t already predicted it, you don’t see any indication of added flavor packs, flavors, or ingredients of any sort because these flavor packs come from orange by-products… even though those by-products are anything but oranges anymore and have been chemically altered.
Why Care?
Now, this is a good question… because it’s got such a good answer. Or a few. Now, first of all, what is the nutritional value of what you are drinking in the end? I would not be surprised if there was hardly any value in it at all. But, beyond the lack of value, should we be drinking this stuff at all? Here’s another great quote from Kristen of Food Renegade:
Juice removed from the fruit is just concentrated fructose without any of the naturally-occurring fiber, pectin, and other goodies that make eating a whole fruit good for you. Did you know, for example, that it takes 6-8 medium sized apples to make just 1 cup of apple juice? You probably wouldn’t be able to eat 6-8 medium apples in a single sitting. (I know I can barely eat one!) But you can casually throw back a cup of apple juice, and you would probably be willing to return for seconds. That’s why fruit juice is dangerous. It’s far too easy to consume far too much sugar.
Good point. Of course, they must use the same process for all of these 100% juices that taste the same every time you buy them, no matter what time of year it is.
So, next time you want some juice, maybe try making it yourself instead… (unless you don’t really care about everything above).
I have to admit that I’m a bit of a juice fan (though, don’t actually drink it that much). I might have a hard time switching but am intent on it now. And it’s really not all that hard, so it shouldn’t be any trouble!
Photos via helter-skelter & gregoirevdb
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Zachary Shahan
If you couldn't guess, I spend most of my time on CleanTechnica and Planetsave. I'm the director/editor of both sites and am a little obsessed with them and the topics they cover. I'm also Publishing Services Manager at Important Media, which means that I do everything I can to support other Important Media writers, editors, and directors (as well as the network as a whole) in the good work they are engaged in. You can also find my work on Scientific American, Reuters, Change.org, most of the sites in the Important Media network, & many other places. For more, or to connect, go to: zacharyshahan.com
9 Responses to What is in Orange Juice? Not What You Think
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[...] Grapes, tomatoes, and lettuce are easy examples. Pretty much any raw food is going to be unprocessed by definition. It gets a little trickier with prepared foods. It can be quite surprising to learn what’s in some foods. [...]
…not to mention how huge its carbon footprint is with all the fertilizers and pesticides they have to use in making OJ.
I think these king of articles pretend to shock consumers, rather than informing.
It can be clearly noticed that the person who wrote it has any technical knowledge and writes in a gossip-manner.
I am not saying that is not true the fact that companies buy and formulate their juices with these flavor packs, but they are not harmful for consumers or just chemicals as the author refers to them.
Is not a reason to stop consuming your favorite orange juice brand. Though, I agree that it will always be better to squeeze oranges by yourself and consume freshly squeezed orange juice. But if you don´t have the time to do it??
Or, you could just eat an orange! That doesn’t take any extra time, and you can be pretty confident you know what all of the ingredients are.
that is why fresh is better! a juicer is inexpensive and fresh oranges in season are easy to squeeze… also, fresh squeezed has pulp! so does eating an orange… you don’t HAVE to drink just juice..try it you might just prefer it to so-called-fresh-not-from concetrate.
yeah, grew up in FL and had several trees for some time — loved fresh juice from oranges right off the tree. but haven’t done that in awhile (and live in Poland now) — need to get back to it
i hope that 1-day juices are real and come from real, fresh fruits with no chemicals, but i guess you never know…
Horrifying. I’m even more grateful for our backyard orange trees.
i bet,.. wish i still had some