1. What is ‘reconstituted’?
Oranges are squeezed using machines much like that found in the home. This juice is then ‘condensed’ by removal of water using heat. The resultant concentrate is transported to factories around Australia where the water is added back to the concentrate. This process is called reconstitution. The primary reason for using reconstituted juice is economic transportation and to ensure availability all year round.
2. Why do you need preservatives?
Preservatives are needed to maintain product quality for the required shelf-life so that juice can be made available conveniently. Many preservatives can be found naturally in raw foods, such as citric acid (in oranges and lemons) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
3. Do you use imported juice?
Although Australia grows an excess of 600 kilo tonnes of oranges every year, the harvest can vary greatly due to seasonal variations. Shortfall of concentrate availability necessitates importation of juice during some periods.
4. It is out of date – is it alright?
The juice does not become spoiled on the use by date. The juice will last past this date as long as it has been stored properly. The quality may not be as good as when first made. It should be assessed if it is ‘fit to drink’. If in doubt throw it out.
5. Why doesn’t freshly squeezed juice taste like what comes out of the bottle?
Most juices on the market are made from concentrate which does not have the ‘fresh aroma’ due to the heat treatment. There are some products on the market which are made only from juice which has not been concentrated. These juices do taste more like the ‘home made’ product.
6. Are fruit juices irradiated?
In Australia no food including fruit juices can be irradiated by law.
7. How does orange juice produced by diffusion/counter current extraction methods differ from conventional orange juice?
The diffusion or counter current extracted product differs from conventional orange juice in that it combines a percentage of juice extracted from the inside of the peel as well as from the flesh of the orange.
This extraction is done using technically very advanced processes, so that the product sold is nutritionally, analytically and organoliptically equivalent to conventional orange juice.
This development will enable Australian producers to compete economically with overseas countries in the supply of orange juice and also give the Australian consumer an equivalent product at a lower price.
8. What is 100% juice?
100% juice is the liquid obtained from fruits or vegetables. It does not include juice derived from concentrate or contains any additives whatsoever.
9. What is organic juice?
These juices are prepared from fruit grown without the use of ‘chemicals’ and not derived from genetically modified crops. All manufacturers are independently certified before they are able to use the term organic.
10. What is natural?
Does not contain food additives (unless they are natural components) or have any part removed or changed.
11. What does “No Added Sugar” mean?
No added sugar – products must not contain any added sugar (includes honey, malt, malt extract or maltose) but, of course, still contain the natural sugars of the fruit juice.
Health & Nutrition FAQ’s
1. Does reconstituted juice have any added sugar?
Definitely not. Juice is transported around Australia and indeed the world in a concentrated form (two thirds of the water has been removed). The reason for this is that it is expensive to transport this extra volume. The water is extracted by evaporation, but the juice retains all its nutritional characteristics except for the fact that it loses some of its Vitamin C. Reconstituted juice is simply this concentrated juice with the same amount of water added back as was originally evaporated off. You would have noticed in the ingredient labelling of most brands containing reconstituted juice that the company has added Vitamin C to more than compensate for that lost during the evaporation process. No sugar is added or removed during the concentration process.
2. If a juice uses reconstituted juice but the bottle doesn’t list a sugar under ingredients or doesn’t say “No added sugar” on the label – is it likely that sugar has been added?
Again, if sugar is not mentioned in the ingredient listing there should definitely not be any sugar added to the product.
Fruit Juice Australia (FJA), through its voluntary Code of Practice, actually monitors fruit juice samples from the marketplace and analyse their contents for truth in labelling on an ongoing basis to ensure compliance to the Australian Food Standards and the safety of consumers.
