What you should know about fruit juices

The shocking fact that only 10 percent of adolescences currently reach the target of five pieces of fruit a day is startling particularly when fruit in all its forms is so readily available virtually everywhere. So we thought we’d have a look at something close to our hearts here at UKVending: Fruit juices.

Firstly let’s clear up any confusion about what exactly is fruit juice.

Fruit Juice is 100 percent pure juice made from the flesh of fresh fruit or from whole fruit, depending on the type used. It is not permitted to add sugars, sweeteners, preservatives, flavourings or colourings. Now here is where the confusion starts to creep in.

Fruit juices are variously described as FROM CONCENTRATE, NOT FROM CONCENTRATE and FRESHLY SQUEEZED.

Juice from concentrate undergoes a process whereby the juice is firstly extracted from the fruit and the water content is significantly reduced usually by evaporation. The resulting juice is then usually frozen and shipped. To get the fruit juice in a useable form the manufacturers simply add water.

Not from concentrate juice is similar, but not quite. The Juice is extracted and then lightly pasteurised and frozen, chilled or aseptically transported to the country where it will be packed.

Freshly squeezed juice, really does not need explaining.

Each of these different processes means that the fruit juice is essentially a different commodity in each case and each will have a different shelf life. Long life juices can be kept for between 6 – 12 months, whilst others will need to be consumed within 30 days or less. Freshly squeezed juices, here in the UK, need to be used within a fortnight.