Myths and truths about juices

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Absolutely everyone knows what juice is. However, most consumers are poorly aware of the naturalness and benefits of juices. Many are sure that packaged juices contain many unhealthy ingredients, and there are practically no useful substances and microelements. Such perceptions give rise to a huge number of myths about juices. We decided to deal with the main ones.

Myth # 1: Juices in bags are made from unnatural substances

And in fact…

Perhaps this is the most common stereotype about juices. In fact, natural substances that are found in fruits and vegetables give a pleasant aroma and rich color to juices, and modern technologies for the production of concentrated juice allow you to preserve the natural smell and taste.

Reconstituted juice is made from natural fruits, vegetables and berries. Only it goes a longer way, because before getting to our table, fruits and vegetables are collected in places of their geographical growth. Then, in the factory, the fruits are processed, obtaining natural concentrated juice from them. Concentrating juice is the process of evaporating water from it. This technology makes it possible to transport juice over long distances, thereby offering the consumer a wide range of flavors even from those fruits that do not grow in the region, while maintaining their useful properties.

Myth # 2: Juices contain preservatives, fragrances, dyes and a lot of sugar

And in fact…

By definition, packaged juice cannot contain preservatives, fragrances, dyes and sugar, because in accordance with the current Russian legislation, the drink in which they are contained simply cannot be called juice.

The juice contains only fresh fruits and vegetables, which undergo strict quality control.

According to Russian legislation, juice should be understood as “a liquid food product that is unfermented, fermentable, obtained from edible parts of benign, ripe, fresh or preserved fresh or dried fruits and (or) vegetables by physical impact on these edible parts and in which in accordance with the peculiarities of the method for its production, the nutritional value, physicochemical and organoleptic properties characteristic of the juice from the fruits and (or) vegetables of the same name are preserved”.

The juice contains only fresh fruits and vegetables, which undergo strict quality control. Reconstituted juices can be produced in any country thanks to the concentrated juice technology. However, natural juice concentrate is produced only in areas where fruits grow. A fundamentally important factor is the freshness of the fruit itself from which the juice is made. The shorter the time elapsed between when the fruit or vegetables were harvested and when they were processed, the better and healthier the juice will be.

If we talk about the calorie content of juices, the fruits themselves contain a sufficient amount of natural sugars. No sugar is added to 100% juices. Most of the minerals, fruit acids, sugars and vitamins pass from the fruit to the juice.

The juice also does not contain any colorants or flavors. The color of the juice is determined by the color of the fruit. Vegetables, fruits and berries contain natural substances that give the fruit the appropriate color. And modern technologies help to preserve the aroma of fruits. During the production of natural concentrated juice, they allow not only to evaporate water, but also to preserve volatile aroma-forming substances. With the help of special technologies, these substances are collected, stored, and then added to the juice when reconstituted.

Thus, the reconstituted juice retains not only beneficial substances and taste, but also the natural smell of the fruit.

Packaged juice is stored for a long time due to the fact that the product is heated to a certain temperature and, thus, bacteria are destroyed, but at the same time most of the nutrients, minerals and vitamins are preserved, and then bottled in a sterile container with minimal contact with air. The plant maintains complete sterility of the process: from preparation to filling the juice into Tetra Pak bags.

Packaging plays an important role: the juice should be protected as much as possible from oxygen, light and bacteria during storage. Accordingly, the higher the protective properties of the package, the longer the juice retains its taste, and also meets the quality and food safety standards.

Myth # 3: Fruit and freshly squeezed juices are much better and healthier than packaged ones

And in fact…

Many people find that juicing vegetables and fruits at home is beneficial. However, unfortunately, not everything is so simple and obvious. We can never be 100% sure that fruits bought in a store or on the market are fresh, that temperature or other conditions were not violated during their storage.

We can never be 100% sure that fruits bought in a store or market are fresh.

Also, lovers of freshly squeezed juice should know that it is necessary to drink freshly squeezed juice within the nearest time after pressing, since the amount of vitamins in it decreases with every minute. Packaged juices can be stored in a closed form for quite a long time, since vegetables and fruits are processed directly where they grow, and they go for processing at the moment of their maximum maturity, and conservation technologies allow you to preserve all the advantages of ripe products.

Based on materials from PepsiCo