This winter professor, Pierre Laszlo gave an hour-long speech at the Central Library that I termed "OJ 101." Though Laszlo clearly loved the history and "American capitalism" behind orange juice, he was less enthusiastic about the liquid itself. He spoke of several cases where manufacturers had been found "cutting" their supposedly 100 percent juice, most commonly with beet sugar. He also mentioned off-handedly the several mafia-style Brazilian families that control nearly all of the juice coming from South America, which is a huge amount.
But Laszlo said his book Citrus: A History wasn't focused on the problems with orange juice. Well, Alissa Hamilton's new book, Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice is.
Americans consume more than half a billion gallons of OJ every year. But behind the cheery, sunny packaging and health claims is a dark side.
Hamilton's book is not due out until May, but in an interview with the Boston Globe, she calls 100 percent orange juice sold in grocery stores a "heavily processed product."
In the process of pasteurizing, juice is heated and stripped of oxygen,Hamiltona process called deaeration, so it doesn't oxidize. Then it's put in
huge storage tanks where it can be kept for upwards of a year. It gets
stripped of flavor-providing chemicals, which are volatile. When it's
ready for packaging, companies such as Tropicana hire flavor companies
such as Firmenich to engineer flavor packs to make it taste fresh.
People think not-from-concentrate is a fresher product, but it also
sits in storage for quite a long time.
goes on to discuss in distributing detail many of the other processes
that "natural" orange juice goes through. She doesn't make any claims about whether all this processing makes orange juice
unhealthy, saying she's not a dietitian.
But professor Barry M. Popkin is a dietitian, and says the notion that
"fruit juice is a healthy part of our diet" is a myth. In an article
earlier this week the New York Times asked six noted food experts the biggest food myths they encounter. This was Popkin's:
Most fruit juices are just sugary beverages, providing extra calories --Thisall from refined carbohydrates -- without sating appetite. And this is
true whether you drink apple or orange juice or one of the fancy new
juices like acai berry or pomegranate juice. The added calories can
contribute to weight gain and increased risk of both diabetes and heart
disease.
has definitely not been a good week for the orange juice industry. But
it's too early to know if the negative publicity will affect sales or have even as big a negative impact as Tropicana changing its logo did.
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Lisa,
You are right on target. Not all juices are created equal. And, certainly, not all fresh squeezed citrus juice is not equal at all to juice that is imported and stripped of its flavoring as was mentioned in Mr. Morris's article.
I have tasted processed juice and it does not taste like fresh squeezed juice at all. I have also tasted Orchid Island Juice and I can't believe I did not just squeeze it myself! It tastes that fresh. In case you are wondering...yes, I did my own taste test to find the difference in taste was simply amazing.
Kudos to Orchid Island Juice for being the Best Tasting fresh squeezed orange juice in America. When quality goes into a product, the end product should reflect that same quality -- your juice does that.
Dear Mr. Morris,
Your article provides sound cautionary advice to all consumers who think they are enjoying a fresh glass of orange juice. The concept that all orange juice is created equal is blatantly false and well documented in Alissa Hamilton�s new book, �Squeezed: What You Don�t Know About Orange Juice.�
Quoting the author, �Consumers have a right to know what they are consuming.� This certainly is the intention behind listing ingredients on labels and truth in advertising mandates. However, overzealous marketers sometimes have a way of clouding information.
The article states that juice is stripped of flavor through extensive processing and stored in huge vats for up to a year, only to have �flavor packs� added to make it taste like orange juice to unsuspecting consumers. However, there are orange juice companies that do not follow such practices and simply make juice the old fashioned way.
Orchid Island Juice Company, family owned and operated in Ft. Pierce, Florida, has been squeezing fresh citrus juice on demand for 20 years. The juice is immediately chilled and shipped to grocery store shelves throughout the United States and many foreign countries without any additives or artificial flavoring.
Orchid Island Juice Company encourages consumers to learn to read the label on the carton before purchasing any juice. Paying attention to the shelf life of a product helps consumers to be less susceptible to marketing hype. Nothing fresh could possibly last on a grocer�s shelf for more than 2 � 3 weeks. Anything with a longer shelf life must be �industrial strength.�
Orchid Island Juice Company takes great pride in using only Florida grown citrus -- no imports -- to support Florida farmers. We believe it�s important to produce fresh food right here at home to feed our nation. From the beginning, our company�s motivation for making juice was to produce a pure, raw, whole food product to feed to our own children and to create jobs in the community.
Not only is Orchid Island Juice good for you, it tastes delicious. Our company was judged as having the best tasting juice in America by Cook�s Illustrated magazine. The magazine is an impartial publication dedicated to bringing �truth� to consumers about a variety of food products. In addition, we were chosen best tasting orange juice among leading brands on NBC�s Today Show.
While the low-carbohydrate movement may eschew fruit juices, an 8 oz. glass of orange juice contains 25% of the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, the Vitamin C in orange juice is an essential nutrient, the absence of which can cause scurvy. Vitamin C may also help synthesize neurotransmitters associated with mood elevation. In addition, the phytochemicals in orange juice are imbued with antioxidant qualities, which have been proven to help fight chronic disease. There are studies that indicate that the antioxidant benefits of drinking orange juice cannot be replicated by vitamin supplements.
We believe one sip of Orchid Island Juice will convince you and your readers that all citrus juices are not created equal. You can taste the Florida fresh difference in Orchid Island Juice. Please, visit us online at www.OIJC.com or call us at 1-800-FRESHHH to learn more about our company.
Sincerely,
Lisa Rymer
Director of Education and Public Affairs
Orchid Island Juice Company
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