Pure juice trap: may contain allergenic pigments and additives

Nearly 60% of the prepackaged juices you buy in supermarkets and convenience stores labeled "100% pure juice" and "freshly squeezed without additives" secretly add allergenic synthetic pigments, preservatives, and flavoring additives. They are not the "pure fruit squeeze" you think at all, and some products even contain less than 30% actual fruit.

Last week, I followed an old friend from the Municipal Food Inspection Institute to a chain convenience store in the area to do a random inspection. I picked up three different brands of "100% orange juice" with prices ranging from 5 yuan to 15 yuan. I sent them to the laboratory for testing. Both products tested positive for the national standard for permitted additives. Tartrazine and sunset yellow are added but are clearly labeled with allergenic risks. The amount of tartrazine added in one of them is just above the upper limit of GB2760. People who are allergic to these pigments may experience allergic reactions such as red and swollen lips and skin rashes after drinking half a bottle.

My cousin's 5-year-old baby has been through this trap before. She specially picked a bottle of product labeled "Pure Juice for Children" for the baby to drink. As a result, the baby's face became swollen into a small bump in the afternoon and a red rash appeared on his body. After going to the hospital to check the allergen, he found out that he was allergic to sunset yellow. She had always thought that the baby was allergic to oranges and did not dare to give her even fresh oranges. She had wronged oranges for more than half a year.

Of course, some practitioners in the food industry say that as long as they meet the national standards for addition, these additives are safe for the general population. There is nothing wrong with this, but the problem lies in the premise of the "ordinary population" - people with allergies, the elderly and children with weak metabolism, the tolerance threshold for this kind of synthetic pigments is much lower than ordinary people. The safe amount in the national standard may be an allergenic amount for them, not to mention that many small brands are playing around with it, and it is not uncommon to see excessive additions.

To be honest, businesses don’t have to add these things because they have nothing to do. How much does pure freshly squeezed juice cost? The juice yield of a pound of Gannan oranges is only about 30%, and the problem of browning needs to be solved. Freshly squeezed orange juice will turn dark and brown after being left at room temperature for half a day. Look at the orange juice that has been on the supermarket shelves for half a year and is as bright as a small sun. Can it maintain its appearance without adding pigment? Many of them are restored with cheap concentrated fruit juice. After the restoration, the flavor is as light as orange peel water mixed with water. Without adding flavor or citric acid to adjust the taste, you will not buy it at all.

I have talked with domestic brands that make compliant cold-pressed juices before. They said that if they are serious about making 100% pure juices, the ingredient list will only include fruits, concentrated juices and water, and they dare not add any additives. However, small brands cannot resist word games and print "pure juice flavor" and "freshly squeezed taste" directly on the most conspicuous place on the package. When consumers pick it up and glance at it, they subconsciously buy it as pure juice, without turning to the back to read the ingredient list.

After almost 7 years of food selection, I don’t even look at the slogan on the front when choosing juices. I just look at the ingredients list on the back. Whenever there are colored words such as “lemon yellow”, “sunset yellow” and “carmine”, as well as “sodium benzoate” and “food flavor”, I will not buy it no matter how hyped it is, especially if I buy it for my children. I really can’t risk allergy allergy just to save a little money.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t drink pre-packaged juice. If you’re too lazy to bring your own water when you go out, it’s okay to buy a bottle to quench your thirst. Just don’t be fooled by the word “pure” on the package. If you really want to pursue health and safety, you can squeeze a cup at home in 3 minutes, and you’ll feel safe drinking it, right?