Why Organic Juice is Good For You

green | July 25th, 2010 - 8:00 PM

We all think it is a healthy choice to drink a glass of fruit juice but have you ever thought about the fact if it’s really juice what you’re drinking. A glass of orange, apple or pineapple juice in the morning really gets the day started. But what is really in the bottles of juice that we are drinking?

The quality of the juice of course relies on the fruit and the orchards where the fruit is grown. Current conventional agricultural practice means the plants in these orchards are sprayed with herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals. Although the fruit is first cleaned to remove dirt and topical chemicals when harvested, there is a belief that the chemicals are already within the fruit and that not all chemicals can be removed by washing. Some have already been absorbed by the fruit.

The next step in production is to extract the juice from the fruit. Once squeezed or pressed, this involves pasteurising the juice to kill microorganisms that might be present. Pasteurising involves heating the juice to high temperature for a short time. The heating process also makes the some juices appear clear. Finally, before the juice is bottled or packaged it is often filtered again.

Most juice found on the supermarket shelves is actually reconstituted from a concentrate. The concentrated juice may have originally come from overseas. They make a concentrate out of the juice so that the juice is available all year round and for economic reasons. It has a less impact on the environment, as it is less heavy to transport.

Natural juice

In the supermarket we also see “natural juice”. What is the difference between conventional juice and natural juice? Natural juices don’t contain food additives or artificial colours and don’t have any part of the juice removed or changed. Natural juice only contains the sugar that was originally in the fruit. No sugars, including honey, glucose malt, malt extract or maltose, have been added to natural juice.

Organic juice making

So how is organic juice different to both conventional and natural juices? Naturally, organic juices are made with fruit from orchards that do not use any chemicals. Any chemical use means the orchard is no longer organic, and only organic fertilisers are used.

Another premise in organic juice making is that the orchard can’t be a monoculture. There has to be the cultivation of more than one fruit in the orchard. This keeps the soil more fertile and it is better for the environment. Organic juice is also not made of genetically modified crops. Similarly to natural juice, in organic juice making there is no use of added sugars or preservatives – unlike conventional juice making.

Lastly, most businesses making organic juice are generally small family businesses that are passionate about making organic juice. They treat nature with love, care and respect. A lot of the organic juice makers are also involved in corporate social responsibility. In their business it is important that the business is not only about profit, but it is also important to know what impact the activities of the business have on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public. They’re honouring people, planet and profit.

You can see, drinking an organic juice is drinking a pretty pure juice!

thanks to Green Times: Why Organic Juice is Good For You

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