May 2008
Juice jive has consumers seeing cranberry red
Lots of you have been fooled by fruit juice you've plucked off store shelves, if reader letters are any indication. A Maryland
reader found that an Ocean Spray juice (recently discontinued) labeled "blueberry, pomegranate, and cranberry" listed grape
and apple juice first on the label. An Arizona reader saw "orange fused pineapple" on a Sunny D package but discovered the
contents were mostly water and high-fructose corn syrup with 5 percent juice, none of it pineapple. Then there's the surprise
a New York reader got a while back from a bottle of Veryfine Fruit2O Plus Citrus Energy Boost, no longer made. The contents:
artificially flavored water, vitamins, and caffeine.
Knowing juice-label lingo can help you buy what you intend to and avoid added sugars and artificial ingredients. Here are the basics:
"100% juice" or "100% pure." This is the gold standard, indicating that the product contains pure juice, possibly reconstituted from concentrate (more on concentrate below). Still, there are caveats: "All juice" might not mean all of the juice featured on the label—ruby-red grapefruit, say.
Many 100 percent juice products are a blend, often with apple or grape fruit juices as the first ingredient and the featured juice lower on the list. That's allowed, as long as companies state on the label what the product really is. (Typically, the info is in far smaller print than that "ruby-red grapefruit.") Customer-service representatives at Tropicana and Ocean Spray told us that apple and grape juice are used to add sweetness and to make tarter juices, such as cranberry and pomegranate, more palatable.
"Cocktail," "drink," "beverage." Red flags. These drinks contain less than 100 percent juice and sometimes as little as 5 percent. Water, flavorings, and added sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup may make up the rest.
"From concentrate." This refers to juice that has been concentrated, then rewatered to return it to its original form. Some labels boast "not from concentrate," which seems to mean they're a more healthful choice, but our experts say no notable nutritional differences exist between the two forms.
"Light." Tropicana, Welch's, Ocean Spray, Mott's, and other brands have come out with light versions of their fruit juices that tout less sugar and fewer calories. These are basically regular juice diluted with water, artificially sweetened, and priced the same as regular juice.
CR's take. For juice, choose "100% juice," but check the ingredients for the listing of the juice you're after. Ingredients appear in descending order of weight.
Think twice about "beverages," "cocktails," and "drinks" with added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Look for the total percentage of juice at the top of the nutrition facts panels, where the law requires manufacturers to list it.
Be aware that fruit juices can have a lot more calories than the fruits or vegetables from which they're taken. To save calories and money, you can dilute 100 percent juice with chilled water or seltzer.
Knowing juice-label lingo can help you buy what you intend to and avoid added sugars and artificial ingredients. Here are the basics:
"100% juice" or "100% pure." This is the gold standard, indicating that the product contains pure juice, possibly reconstituted from concentrate (more on concentrate below). Still, there are caveats: "All juice" might not mean all of the juice featured on the label—ruby-red grapefruit, say.
Many 100 percent juice products are a blend, often with apple or grape fruit juices as the first ingredient and the featured juice lower on the list. That's allowed, as long as companies state on the label what the product really is. (Typically, the info is in far smaller print than that "ruby-red grapefruit.") Customer-service representatives at Tropicana and Ocean Spray told us that apple and grape juice are used to add sweetness and to make tarter juices, such as cranberry and pomegranate, more palatable.
"Cocktail," "drink," "beverage." Red flags. These drinks contain less than 100 percent juice and sometimes as little as 5 percent. Water, flavorings, and added sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup may make up the rest.
"From concentrate." This refers to juice that has been concentrated, then rewatered to return it to its original form. Some labels boast "not from concentrate," which seems to mean they're a more healthful choice, but our experts say no notable nutritional differences exist between the two forms.
"Light." Tropicana, Welch's, Ocean Spray, Mott's, and other brands have come out with light versions of their fruit juices that tout less sugar and fewer calories. These are basically regular juice diluted with water, artificially sweetened, and priced the same as regular juice.
CR's take. For juice, choose "100% juice," but check the ingredients for the listing of the juice you're after. Ingredients appear in descending order of weight.
Think twice about "beverages," "cocktails," and "drinks" with added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Look for the total percentage of juice at the top of the nutrition facts panels, where the law requires manufacturers to list it.
Be aware that fruit juices can have a lot more calories than the fruits or vegetables from which they're taken. To save calories and money, you can dilute 100 percent juice with chilled water or seltzer.
