Food fraud is a global issue, and we’ve probably all been fooled before. It predominantly affects prized foods like extra virgin olive oil and saffron, but you might also want to take care when buying products like honey, black pepper, and even fruit juice.
Fruit juice? Really?
Unfortunately, yes. The reason: fruit juice is easy to fake, and manufacturers sometimes cut breakfast favorites like orange juice with cheaper alternatives, including lemon, grapefruit, or mandarin juice. In more severe fraud cases, you might be getting a watered down cocktail of dyes and sugary flavorings instead of one of your five a day.
It’s no secret that juice is usually high in sugar, but a glass of squeezed, vitamin-packed fruit is surely better for your health than a sugary can of soda — or is it? What you think is pure apple juice, for example, could contain questionable additives like high fructose corn syrup, raisin sweetener, fructose, and malic acid.
You might want to beware of “superfood” claims on items like pomegranate juice — grape juice is remarkably similar in color — and watch out for mysterious ingredients.
While the majority of fraud cases don’t carry major food safety risks, some substitutions may lead to food poisoning and have unintended consequences for people with allergies. You may also be misled into thinking you’re making a healthy or sustainable choice.
So how can you tell if your juice is the real deal? You need to ignore the label on the front of the container and read the one on the back. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requires that companies list ingredients in descending order of predominance according to weight. So the heaviest (i.e. the higher quantities) will be listed first. While manufacturer’s don’t have to reveal the exact % of each ingredient in order to protect their “trade secrets,” if they claim their product is juice, they are required to say what % of juice it contains.
And for a completely fraud-proof option, you could try squeezing your own juice at home.
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