Zhang Chunyi
With the increasing emphasis on healthy eating, fruit juice has become a healthy diet in the minds of many consumers. Beijing Youth Daily reporter visited a number of supermarkets in Beijing and found that "100%" is almost an "essential logo" for various products on the juice shelf. But in fact, the meaning behind these "100%" is not the same, there are so-called "freshly squeezed juices", but the more quantitative is the restored juices. (Beijing Youth Daily, May 24)
When it comes to "100% juice", consumers can easily understand it as pure fruit juice freshly squeezed with fruit without any additives. In fact, the "100% juice" claimed by many merchants is a restored fruit juice, that is, concentrated fruit pulp and water are reduced to a normal fruit juice concentration. Due to the advantages of low cost, easy preservation and transportation, and extended shelf life, recovered juice is currently an international processing technology, and most of the "100% fruit juice" on the market belongs to this type of product.
There has been a lot of debate about the called "100% juice" about the restoration juice. According to the General Principles of Beverage implemented by the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China since 2016, direct fruit juice or concentrated juice with water can be called "100% juice". However, many consumers are not buying it. On the one hand, although the concentration similar to fresh juice can be achieved by restoring with concentrated pulp and water, there is still a big difference between the taste and fresh juice. On the other hand, for consumers who like to buy freshly squeezed juice, buying restored juice without knowing it will inevitably produce a feeling of being deceived.
Manufacturers first remove the water in the juice to make concentrated juice, and then add water to the concentrated juice and reduce it to the concentration of the original juice, which seems to be beyond reproach, called "100% juice". However, the collective referral of freshly squeezed and reconstituted juices as "100% juices" only takes into account the production link, not the consumption link. The one-size-fits-all rule, to a certain extent, obscures the essential difference between freshly squeezed juice and restored juice, and can easily mislead consumers.
Under the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Act, consumers have the right to know the true circumstances of the goods they purchase or use or the services they receive. Whether it's freshly squeezed or repurposed juice, that's an important part of the real situation of the product. Although in some "100% juice" ingredient lists, marked as "water" and "concentrated juice", can reflect the properties of the restored juice from the side, but many consumers will not notice this, but as soon as they see "100% juice", they think that it is the juice squeezed with the original taste of fresh fruit.
The relationship between freshly squeezed juice and restored juice is somewhat similar to pure milk and restored milk. There are also two types of liquid milk on the market: one is fresh milk produced by dairy cows, which is effectively heated and sterilized and sold in separate packages; the other is processed into milk powder with fresh milk and then added water to make liquid milk. Once upon a time, pure milk and restored milk also made consumers stupid and unclear. Some dairy companies, in the name of pure milk, have added restorative milk to it. The Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Dairy Product Quality and Safety, which came into effect in October 2008, clearly stipulate that the use of reconstituted milk as a raw material for the production of liquid milk shall be marked with the words "reconstituted milk", and the raw materials and proportions contained in the restored milk shall be truthfully indicated in the product ingredients. This completely put an end to the idea that restorative milk is consciously or unconsciously confused with pure milk.
To prevent "100% juice" from misleading consumers, it is advisable to learn from the dairy industry. Relevant parties should issue regulations requiring that fruit juice products made of concentrated fruit pulp and water must be clearly marked as "restored juice". This aspect can effectively meet the consumer's right to know and choose, and at the same time, it can also play a role in forcing manufacturers. Without the cover of "100% juice", restored juice products must continuously improve the process, improve the taste, ensure quality, and help consumers get out of the misunderstanding that "freshly squeezed juice must be healthier than restored juice" in order to win the favor of consumers. Comics/Chen Bin