This weeks column is all about orange juice. I take issue with Marketplaces take on premium juices. A “so what” story. That’s how I would label the enticingly titled “Juicy Secrets” investigation of “premium” orange juice by CBC’s Marketplace. Not a premium performance by the usually excellent program. It’s not a question of facts being correct, the crew did its homework properly. It is a question of leaving viewers with the impression that there is some massive scheme by orange juice producers to dupe the public into buying something that is less “natural” than they think, and that this really matters. It doesn’t. The program claims to reveal secrets that orange juice producers don’t want you to know. What secrets? Simply that some of the flavours lost during processing are added back into the juice. “A miracle of nature has become a miracle of manipulation,” goes the accusation. Actually, I would categorize it more as a significant achievement for modern science. Anyone who has ever squeezed oranges and stored the juice will attest to dramatic changes in flavour within a few days. And not for the better. The flavour of orange juice is due to hundreds of compounds, with linalool, limonene, beta-phellandrene, terpinene-4-ol, ethyl-3-hydroxyhexanoate, geraniol, decanal, octanal, myrcene, citral, nerol, octanol and decanol being among the major components. Of course the exact composition varies according to the type of orange, climactic conditions and ripeness when picked. And chemical changes begin to occur as soon as juice is squeezed. Some compounds react with oxygen in the air, others are subjected to the activity of enzymes released during squeezing, natural yeasts present in the orange trigger fermentation and any bacteria present begin to multiply. If freshly squeezed orange juice were just sealed in a container and distributed, it would quickly spoil. What consumers look for is good taste and safety. And the so-called “premium” products deliver that, thanks to a great deal of scientific research. If there is to be an acceptable shelf life, the juice has to be pasteurized to destroy microorganisms and stop enzymatic activity. To prevent off-flavours caused by oxidation, oxygen has to be removed from the airspace above the stored juice. Yes, the juice does have to be stored, often for months. We want our juice year round, but oranges do not grow year round. And in Canada, they don’t grow at all. The problem is that the processing also removes some of the important flavour components. But these can be isolated from the vapours drawn off during oxygen removal or from essential oils extracted form the peels of the oranges. These compounds can then be formulated into “flavour packs” which are added back into the juice just before distribution. Nothing that was not naturally present in the orange is introduced; all the added compounds were present in the juice in the first place. Since the composition of the flavour packs can be adjusted, producers can ensure that the processed orange juice always tastes the same, even though the original juice may vary in flavour depending on the source of oranges and the time of the year. The taste of orange juice is a function of the interaction of its chemical components with receptors on our taste buds and in our nasal passage. Research has revealed that some of these components contribute more to taste than others, and flavour packs can take advantage of this. For example, increasing the amount of ethyl butyrate, one of the orange’s natural components, improves the taste. There is no health issue here at all. Not only is this compound perfectly safe to consume, butyrates are thought to play a role in protection against colon cancer. One of the reasons that “probiotics” are believed to be beneficial is their ability to produce short chain fatty acids like butyrate that cells in the lining of the colon need to maintain their health. Butyrates are even sold as dietary supplements and are commonly present in beer. Indeed ethyl butyrate is available in standardized capsules to train professional beer tasters. Marketplace likes to portray itself as a whistle blower. Yes, blow that whistle long and hard when it comes to homeopathic preparations, as was done on a recent show. But when it comes to premium orange juice, that whistle can be pocketed unless it is used to call attention to the clever chemistry used to give us “premium” orange juice that comes darned close to tasting like freshly squeezed. Is the term “natural” on the label totally appropriate? Maybe not. But so what? Long A “so what” story. That’s how I would label the enticingly titled “Juicy Secrets” investigation of “premium” orange juice by CBC’s Marketplace. Not a premium performance by the usually excellent program. It’s not a question of the facts not being correct, the crew did its homework properly. It is a question of leaving viewers with the impression that there is some massive scheme by orange juice producers to dupe the public into buying something that is less “natural” than they think, and that this really matters. It doesn’t. The program claims to reveal the secrets that orange juice producers don’t want you to know. What secrets? Simply that some of the flavours lost during processing are added back into the juice. “A miracle of nature has become a miracle of manipulation,” goes the accusation. Actually, I would categorize it more as a spectacular achievement for modern science. Anyone who has ever squeezed oranges and stored the juice will attest to dramatic changes in the flavour within a few days. And not for the better. The flavour of orange juice is due to literally hundreds of compounds, with linalool, limonene, beta-phellandrene, terpinene-4-ol, ethyl-3-hydroxyhexanoate, geraniol, decanal, octanal, myrcene, citral, nerol, octanol and decanol being among the major components. Of course the exact composition varies according to the type of orange, climactic conditions and ripeness when picked. Indeed, two oranges picked from the same tree at the same time will not have an identical chemical makeup. And chemical changes begin to occur as soon as juice is squeezed. Some compounds react with oxygen in the air, others are subjected to the activity of enzymes released during squeezing, natural yeasts present in the orange trigger fermentation and any bacteria present begin to multiply. If freshly squeezed orange juice were just sealed in a container and distributed, it would quickly spoil. What consumers look for is good taste and safety. And the so-called “premium” products deliver that, thanks to a great deal of scientific research. If there is to be an acceptable shelf life, the juice has to be pasteurized to destroy microorganisms and stop enzymatic activity. To prevent off-flavours caused by oxidation, oxygen has to be removed from the airspace above the stored juice. Yes, the juice does have to be stored, often for months. We want our juice year round, but oranges do not grow year round. And in Canada, they don’t grow at all. The problem is that the processing also removes some of the important flavour components of the juice. But these can be isolated from the vapours drawn off during oxygen removal or from essential oils extracted form the peels of the oranges. These compounds can then be formulated into “flavour” packs which are added back into the juice just before distribution. All the added compounds were present in the juice in the first place, so nothing that was not naturally present in the orange is introduced. Since the composition of the flavour packs can be adjusted, producers can ensure that the processed orange juice always tastes the same, even though the original juice may vary in flavour depending on the source of oranges and the time of the year. The taste of orange juice is determined by the interaction of its chemical components with receptors on our taste buds and in our nasal passage. Research has revealed that some of these components contribute more to taste than others, and flavour packs can take advantage of this. For example, increasing the amount of ethyl butyrate, one of the orange’s natural components, improves the taste. There is no health issue here at all. Not only is this compound perfectly safe to consume, butyrates are thought to play a role in protection against colon cancer. One of the reasons that “probiotics” are believed to be beneficial is their ability to produce short chain fatty acids like butyrate that cells in the lining of the colon need to maintain their health. Butyrates are even sold as dietary supplements and are commonly present in beer. Indeed ethyl butyrate is available in standardized capsules to train professional beer tasters. According to the Marketplace “investigation,” people pay twice as much for premium orange juice than for concentrate and what they are getting is a heavily processed and engineered product. True, but they are getting a product that tastes far, far better than juice made from concentrate. That’s what they are paying for. But Marketplace was bent on creating the impression that the public was a victim of some sort of massive subterfuge organized by orange juice producers. In an inane demonstration they put some Tropicana orange juice in a perfume bottle and put it alongside real perfume. Passers by were asked to sniff each one and then were informed that the same company that gives the perfume its smell also gives the orange juice its taste, as if this were some sort of criminal conspiracy. They were dutifully horrified with one commenting that she wasn’t sure she could believe this. Believe it. And there is absolutely no issue here. So what if the flavour packs are made by the same company that makes perfumes? This has no more relevance than telling people that limonene, one of the main components of orange flavour, was used to clean up the oil spill in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. What matters when it comes to evaluating orange juice is the taste. Most people will agree that fresh tastes best, but not all. In Marketplace’s taste test, some rated a premium juice higher than fresh. Among the premium juices, Oasis ranked number one. If there is a downside to orange juice, it is the sugar content, something not even alluded to in the Marketplace piece. A 240 mL glass of juice contains about 25 grams of sugar, the same as an equivalent volume of soda pop. So in terms of calories, the juice and pop are equivalent. But the juice contains all sorts of nutrients such as various antioxidants, vitamin C, folic acid and potassium not found in the soft drink. Still, the amount of sugar ingested should be watched. Authorities agree that men should not consume more than 40 grams of added sugar a day and women should not exceed 25 grams. The sugar composition is not the same in juices and pop. Tropicana contains 28 grams of fructose per liter while Coke has 63. Marketplace likes to portray itself as a whistle blower. Yes, blow that whistle long and hard when it comes to homeopathic preparations, as was done on a recent show. But when it comes to premium orange juice, that whistle can be pocketed unless it is used to call attention to the clever chemistry used to give us “premium” orange juice that comes darned close to tasting like freshly squeezed. Is the term “natural” on the label totally appropriate? Maybe not. But so what?
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 01:31:51 +0000
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