August 8th, 2019
How Pure is 100 Percent Orange Juice?
While logging on to download Kroger coupons to my Kroger card (best thing ever!), I happened to see an article that had popped up about how the 100% pure orange juice we drink is still artificial. I had to pop on and give it a read. I may never drink orange juice again, unless I squeeze it myself. The facts are startling.
First, the oranges are squeezed and the juice is stored in vats. They remove the oxygen so the juice will keep for a year. The odd thing about that is, once it’s pasteurized and the oxygen is removed, there is no longer any natural flavor left. Get this, companies who manufacture orange juice hire flavor and fragrance companies to create flavor packets to make the juice look and taste like it should. The reason you, the consumer, haven’t heard about this is because they use orange by-products, so it doesn’t have to be listed as an ingredient, even though the by-product is chemically altered. So yes, the same people who make perfumes are also flavoring your morning juice. The juice companies can say whatever they want but saying their juice is 100% natural is a lie. I don’t care if there are orange by-products in it, it’s not 100% juice. We should have to be told that we are putting a chemically altered product into our body so we can decide for ourselves whether we want to purchase the product or not.
I am starting to question everything I eat and drink and whether the label on it is true or not. While the information about orange juice is on the internet, what isn’t there about other foods and drinks, and, who has the kind of time to research every item at the grocery store? Since I am very disturbed by this, I wanted to share so you could make an informed decision. I am very bothered that the Food and Drug Administration isn’t more forthcoming about what is to be listed on food and drink ingredient labels. Until they are, store-bought orange juice is definitely off my table.