Fresh, preservative-free, and rich in vitamin C and fiber. These are some typical claims of a proliferating variety of fruit juices including cold pressed juices that claim to even “detox”, driving health-seeking consumers to splurge willingly on these drinks. But a Council’s test on 40 prepackaged chilled fruit juices, has found preservatives present in some of the samples that claimed to contain no preservatives while a contaminant patulin in excess of the food safety action level was detected in 2 cold pressed fruit juices. In terms of nutritional content, the dietary fiber content of all samples fell far below the daily body requirements, while most apple juices and a few blended fruit juices had only low vitamin C levels. Consumers are advised not to use the excuse of being too busy or troublesome, and rely on drinking fruit juice as the sole substitute for fruit consumption. Besides paying more, it could well also affect your health.
The test focused mainly on some of the common fruit juices covering 8 apple, 19 orange and 13 blended fruit juices, among them 11 cold pressed and 4 freshly squeezed and packed onsite. On a scale of 5, 18 samples – comprising 13 orange, 3 blended and 2 apple juices - scored a high overall rating of 4.5 points while another apple juice detected with patulin contamination was rated with the least score of 1.5 points.
2 fruit juices removed from shelves
Nutritional labelling accuracy needs improvement
The 2 cold pressed samples in question – 1 apple juice and 1 blended apple juice – were found to contain patulin at 67 and 138 ug/kg respectively, both values exceeding the Centre for Food Safety’s action level of not more than 50 ug/kg. The distributors have instantly removed the products from the shelves. A mycotoxin, patulin is commonly present in decaying fruit and vegetables, grains and crops, and in particular apples, even after heat sterilization treatment. According to a UN Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives’ (JECFA) risk assessment report, patulin is genotoxic capable of suppressing immunoreactions, damaging nerves, and influencing development of infants.
In addition, in 4 samples without preservative labelling was found trace amount each of the preservatives sorbic acid, sulphur dioxide, or benzoic acid. 1 sample was believed to have been caused by the natural ingredient in cranberry while the other 3 though their preservative content was within the legislative limit, non-disclosure of preservatives on their labels may constitute a violation of the food labelling regulations. The case has been referred to the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) for follow-up action.
According to the CFS’s “Technical Guidance Notes on Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claims”, the sugar content of prepackaged food should not be higher than 20% of the declared value, whereas the vitamin C and dietary fiber content should not be lower than 20% of the declared values. The test revealed, however, a worrying discrepancy of over 20% between their declared values and measured results in 35% (14 models) of the samples’ sugar, carbohydrate or vitamin C contents. The carbohydrate in 5 samples and the vitamin C in 4 samples were both 20% lower than their declared values, by a shortfall of a maximum 39.5% and 48.3% respectively. Another, 6 samples’ sugar content was also higher than their declared values, reaching 292.3% in the most extreme case. The test findings have been referred to the CFS for further action.
Among the samples, only 3 were labelled with the date of production and 1 without any expiry date. 5 samples with “fresh” or “freshly squeezed” claims on the packaging carried no indication whatsoever of the production date or sterilization method. 2 samples were labelled respectively “No ultra high temperature (UHT) treated” or “Not pasteurized” only.
The Consumer Council stresses the importance of accuracy in food safety and nutrition content disclosure, an important right of consumers. Erroneous nutrition labelling could mislead consumers into buying products unsuitable for them especially patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes. Consumer information such as sterilization method, production date and expiry date are equally important. Manufacturers and their agents are urged to give this issue their serious attention and improve measures to correct the problems in order to safeguard consumers’ health.
Never use fruit juice as substitute for fruit
Dietary fiber is conducive to gastrointestinal health and body waste excretion, and to prevent constipation and such chronic diseases as diabetes and coronary heart disease. According to the WHO and UNFAO, adults in general need not less than 25g of total dietary fiber per day. But without exception the dietary fiber content of all samples including those with fruit pulps claims was lower than the detection limit of less than 1.1g/100ml of fruit juice.
In the test, all fruit juice samples were shown to contain sugar more than 5g/100ml, and are therefore not deemed as a low-sugar food under the current nutritional labelling standards in Hong Kong. Among the samples, apple and blended apple juices had the highest sugar content ranging from 6.7 to 12.9g/100ml. In the case of the sample with the highest sugar content, drinking 1 bottle of 360ml of the fruit juice would amount to 46g of sugar intake equivalent to 92% of an adult average daily intake of 50g free sugars limit. The sugar content of orange juice were generally lower than apple juice from 6 to 11.6g, and blended juice from 5.1 to 10.2g.
The vitamin C content in apple juice, cold pressed or pasteurized, was found to be generally lower than the detection limit (less than 2mg/100ml); only 2 apple juice samples were measured with 4mg and 16mg of vitamin C respectively. Orange juices, on the whole, fared better with a higher vitamin C content than apple juices, ranging from 11 to 52mg/100ml. As for the blended fruit juices, with the exception of 1 sample containing less than the detection limit of 2mg, they ranged from 5 to 43mg.
According to the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes, the daily recommended vitamin C intake for adults should be 100mg. The orange juices in the test provide 11 to 52 g/100ml vitamin C, and if drinking orange juice is your only way to acquire vitamin C, using the sample with the lowest vitamin C content as an example, you will need to drink 900ml in order to reach the daily recommended vitamin C intake, but you would, at the same time, imbibe 70.2g free sugars exceeding the WHO recommended limit of under 50g.
Eating fruits will not only gain the benefit of more vitamin C and fiber but also considerably less expensive than drinking fruit juices. For instance, a medium-sized orange (about 130g) priced about $5.8 gives 70g vitamin C and 3.1g dietary fiber, far cheaper than a bottle of orange juice of 180ml priced $12.1.
Value for money: freshly squeezed & cold pressed?
Cold pressed fruit juices are much in popularity these recent years, claiming its capability of retaining the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals from the fruits through the application of hydraulically cold pressed extraction. With more fruits consumed, their prices are generally higher than the traditionally produced fruit juice. While the test showed that freshly squeezed and cold pressed orange juice samples produced a vitamin C content of 35mg/100ml on average, or 6.1% slightly higher than the pasteurized orange juice (33mg/100ml on average), but because of the 48.4% price difference between the two, that currently price at some $9.2 and $6.2/100ml respectively. Consumers will do well to consider if it is good value for money to spend so much more just for that marginally increased nutrition value in fruit juice, or to eat fruits directly to benefit from their better nutrients and dietary fiber.
Consumers are cautioned about claims that fruit juices could have “detox” value. According to the Hong Kong Dietitians Association, there is no scientific evidence to prove drinking fruit juice could “detox”. On the contrary, the intake of a large quantity of fructose within a short time may upset the intestines resulting in diarrbea and giving the mistaken impression of “detox”.
Consumer advice on purchase and storage
- Pay attention to the expiry date to ensure the fruit juice is in good condition.
- Children, the elderly and persons with weakened immune system should refrain from drinking products that have not been sterilized.
- Fruit juices should be stored at 4°C or below.
User recommendations
- Drink as soon as possible after the fruit juice is out of the fridge to prevent the growth of bacterial spores and toxin.
- After opening the fruit juice finish it before its expiry date.
- Drinking fruit juice regularly may pose the risk of dental erosion, sensitive teeth; children, over-weight people and diabetes patients should take special note not to drink fruit juice as substitute for fruit consumption.
- Fruits contain large quantity of potassium, and even more in fruit juices, so patients of kidney diseases are recommended not to drink fruit juices or only under the guidance of medical care personnel.
The Consumer Council reserves all its right (including copyright) in respect of CHOICE magazine and Online CHOICE.