3 ms·

On its face, I find this difficult to believe because why would any company pay to add massive amounts of chemicals to something to give it a taste that it has

On its face, I find this difficult to believe because why would any company pay to add massive amounts of chemicals to something to give it a taste that it has naturally? The most important point in the article is that storage in the oxygen-less tanks deprives the juice of its flavor. No proof is provided of this assertion. When I follow the source link I get a similar article [1] that then is sourced to a similar one [2], neither of which has and proof, other than the author's assertion. So I tried to track down the original. I found this article [3] which links the original expose to Dr. Oz (whatever) and to a book, Squeezed: What you don’t know about Orange Juice, and an interview with the author [4], where she asserts that the stored orange juice is flavorless, but we don't know if that's really true or not. Did she taste it? Reading the organic juice's page it seems clear that any 'flavor packs', which are made from orange peel and oils, are added to standardize the taste, rather than creating the taste, which seems to be a far more reasonable suggestion, but hardly something to feel alarm about. [1] https://christinescottcheng.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/tropicana-orange-juice-flavor-packs-and-food-industry-lies/ https://christinescottcheng.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/tropica... [2] http://civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshly-squeezed-the-truth-about-orange-juice-in-boxes/ http://civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshly-squeezed-the-truth-a... [3]http://unclematts.com/resources/flavor-packet-faqs/ http://unclematts.com/resources/flavor-packet-faqs/ [4]http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/02/22/qa_with_alissa_hamilton/?page=full http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/02/22/...

wodenokoto 11y ago
Why? For two reasons: 1) flavor. When you buy this brand of juice it taste this way 2) flavor consistency. No matter which field or time of year the can produce the same flavor.
shawn-butler 11y ago
As I recall reconstituted and concentrated juices are supposed to have "Brix" ratings on the food labels. To complicate the matter further, juices that are concentrated for preservation, handling and storage and reconstituted for consumption (labelled "juice from concentrate") should be diluted back to approximately the same solids level (designated as Brix or percent soluble solids) of the initial juice. The amount of add-back water can vary substantially even within a given fruit, so reasonable commercial standards are set (FDA, 1999) Juice is a pretty loaded word with lots of meanings. The tables in this document might help: http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y2515e/y2515e03.htm http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y2515e/y2515e03.htm
rdtsc 11y ago
> any company pay to add massive amounts of chemicals to something to give it a taste that it has naturally? Unless they plan on selling the juice just during harvest time, they need to store it. Try and store some juice you squeezed from oranges even in the refrigerator and see how long it will last and how it will taste. It will last some but not for 6 months. Consistency. Tropicana tastes one way, others taste different. I don't know why you need any proof, products will change flavor after they are stored for a while. > add massive amounts of chemicals to something to give it I'll have to throw the "sauce, please" back at you here ;-) I don't see where in the article it says these flavor packs are massive. Flavor compounds if done right will not be massive. Have you ever added spices or vanilla to anything you cook or bake. How much of the total volume is it? It usually isn't much. > No proof is provided of this assertion. I think it is rather common sense that it would lose flavor, at best it would have a different / strange flavor. > hardly something to feel alarm about. Really, you don't have any idea why someone might be a slightly worried about this class of additives put into a popular food that gets to skirt by regulations based on "technical" language.
- Pyxl101 11y ago
  Yes but what if you store it after removing the oxygen? And just the oxygen. It might last a lot longer. Then put it back at the end and taste it. Industrial companies have a lot of resources and techniques available to them that the typical person making juice in their home does not. For example, what if they pasteurize the juice? Then it might also last longer, etc. Some people react negatively to these sorts of scientific techniques out of what seems to be the naturalistic fallacy, a sort of (mistaken) belief that "natural things" (whatever that means) are intrinsically better.
  - MrGando 11y ago
    There's no such thing as "take out all the oxygen". You can take a bunch, but after a point it get's hard and expensive to keep reducing oxygen concentrations to super low (not zero) levels.
    - 11y ago

wodenokoto 11y ago

Why? For two reasons: 1) flavor. When you buy this brand of juice it taste this way 2) flavor consistency. No matter which field or time of year the can produce the same flavor.

shawn-butler 11y ago

As I recall reconstituted and concentrated juices are supposed to have "Brix" ratings on the food labels. To complicate the matter further, juices that are concentrated for preservation, handling and storage and reconstituted for consumption (labelled "juice from concentrate") should be diluted back to approximately the same solids level (designated as Brix or percent soluble solids) of the initial juice. The amount of add-back water can vary substantially even within a given fruit, so reasonable commercial standards are set (FDA, 1999) Juice is a pretty loaded word with lots of meanings. The tables in this document might help: http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y2515e/y2515e03.htm http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y2515e/y2515e03.htm

rdtsc 11y ago

> any company pay to add massive amounts of chemicals to something to give it a taste that it has naturally? Unless they plan on selling the juice just during harvest time, they need to store it. Try and store some juice you squeezed from oranges even in the refrigerator and see how long it will last and how it will taste. It will last some but not for 6 months. Consistency. Tropicana tastes one way, others taste different. I don't know why you need any proof, products will change flavor after they are stored for a while. > add massive amounts of chemicals to something to give it I'll have to throw the "sauce, please" back at you here ;-) I don't see where in the article it says these flavor packs are massive. Flavor compounds if done right will not be massive. Have you ever added spices or vanilla to anything you cook or bake. How much of the total volume is it? It usually isn't much. > No proof is provided of this assertion. I think it is rather common sense that it would lose flavor, at best it would have a different / strange flavor. > hardly something to feel alarm about. Really, you don't have any idea why someone might be a slightly worried about this class of additives put into a popular food that gets to skirt by regulations based on "technical" language.

Pyxl101 11y ago
Yes but what if you store it after removing the oxygen? And just the oxygen. It might last a lot longer. Then put it back at the end and taste it. Industrial companies have a lot of resources and techniques available to them that the typical person making juice in their home does not. For example, what if they pasteurize the juice? Then it might also last longer, etc. Some people react negatively to these sorts of scientific techniques out of what seems to be the naturalistic fallacy, a sort of (mistaken) belief that "natural things" (whatever that means) are intrinsically better.
- MrGando 11y ago
  There's no such thing as "take out all the oxygen". You can take a bunch, but after a point it get's hard and expensive to keep reducing oxygen concentrations to super low (not zero) levels.
  - 11y ago