LiveLighter puts the squeeze on popular juice brands

20/06/2019

LiveLighter put the spotlight on 38 popular ready-to-drink juice brands to see which ones were serving up plenty of fibre and which ones are packed with fruit concentrates.

The analysis revealed a quarter of the products surveyed contained fruit concentrate, while two thirds of products boasted nutrition and health claims on their packaging. Products with the highest number of kilojoules per bottle were also more likely to contain reconstituted juice.

LiveLighter Campaign Manager and Dietitian Alison McAleese said that companies play on the promise of healthier drinks, plastering health and nutrition claims all over their products.

“Companies know that people associate fruit with health, so they add statements like ‘high in vitamin C’ or ‘no artificial colours and flavours’ to give their product a ‘healthy halo’. But with some products only containing 20% fruit juice, these are often just sugary liquids minus most of the benefits that comes from eating a whole piece of fruit.”

The worst offender was Original Juice Company’s black label orange juice. With 1275 kilojoules in one 600ml bottle, this juice contained the energy content of almost seven small oranges, but less than a third of the fibre of just one small orange.

The Daily Juice Company’s apple, watermelon and raspberry juice boasted health claims of ‘no added sugar’ and ‘one serve of fruit’ per 125ml serve. The reality is one 500ml bottle contains the equivalent amount of kilojoules of five apples (950kj), with less than one gram of fibre.

It’s recommended that adults eat 25-30g of fibre a day. A typical small apple has 188 kilojoules and 2 grams of fibre. Gulping down one a bottle of Daily Juice Co’s apple, watermelon and raspberry juice variety is like eating five apples’ worth of energy (950kjs) but only getting 5% of your daily fibre intake.

“It’s hard to imagine sitting down to eat five apples in one sitting, and yet it’s easy to gulp down the equivalent in just one 500ml bottle of fruit juice in just a few minutes.”

“Fibre is an important part of a healthy diet. It plays a role in stabilising blood sugar levels, maintaining healthy bowels and protects against diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. It also helps you stay fuller for longer so it’s important for maintaining a healthy weight.”

Coles orange juice boasted claims of no added sugar, concentrate or artificial colours or flavours but with over 900 kilojoules in one bottle and only 2 grams of fibre, it’s no substitute to a real orange.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines acknowledge that 100% fruit juices can be part of a healthy diet in small quantities - no more than 125ml or half a cup a day[1]. But with many juice varieties serving up to four times this amount in just one bottle, LiveLighter wants people to know they could be gulping down as much as 13 teaspoons of sugar.

“All of the juices we surveyed exceeded this recommended serving size. We know that people are more likely to grab these drinks as a convenient on-the-go option. This means they’re more likely to finish a bottle in one sitting,” Ms McAleese said.

She urged people to be wary of healthy-sounding claims on fruit juices and make sure these drinks don’t become an everyday substitute for a piece of fruit.

“Eating fruit is a healthier option than drinking it – it has important vitamins and fibre and will be more filling in the long run.”

Top tips:

• Water and a piece of fruit are a healthier alternative to gulping down fruit juice.You’ll stay hydrated and fuller for longer.
• If you do decide to have fruit juice, limit this to half a cup or 125ml and choose lower sugar varieties.
• Refer to the product’s nutrition information panel instead of relying on health claims to guide your choice. Find out which products are high or low in sugar by using LiveLighter’s tips on ways to cut back on sugar.
• Dilute fruit juice with water to make it last longer.

LiveLighter’s analysis of fruit juices

Product	Energy (kj)	Fibre (grams per bottle)	Bottle size (ml)	Equivalent number of small apples (92g) (kj)	Equivalent number of small oranges (106g flesh only) (kj)	Contains juice concentrate
Original Juice Co. black label (orange juice)	1275	<1	600	6.8	6.8	No
Daily Juice Co. apple, watermelon, raspberry	950	0.5	500	5	5	Yes
Coles orange juice	938	2	500	4.9	4.9	No
Daily Juice Co. cloudy apple juice	925	0.5	500	4.9	4.9	Yes
Daily Juice Co. tropical sunshine & fruit juice	880	1	500	4.7	4.7	Yes
Daily juice Co. pulp free orange juice	835	1	500	4.4	4.4	Yes
The Juice Lab coconut breeze	817	2.6	350	4.3	4.3	No
Mildura orange and passionfruit	815	Not stated	500	4.3	4.3	Yes
Mildura apple and guava	805	Not stated	500	4.3	4.3	Yes
Mildura