Useful properties of packaged juice

Proponents of proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle in general have no doubts about the beneficial properties of packaged juice: modern food production technologies make it possible to preserve almost all useful components during processing: vitamins, macro- and microelements, as well as other nutrients that were originally contained in the original juice. raw materials - fruits, forest or garden berries, vegetable plants. As a result, bagged juice is just as valuable a source of nutrients as fresh fruit.

Contrary to popular belief, no sugar is added to juices. The exception is vegetable juices (for example, tomato) - in addition to salt, sugar is sometimes added to them in very small quantities, and information about this must be on the package. There is added sugar in nectars, fruit drinks and juice drinks, so when buying, you need to carefully read the information on the package.

There are different juice products in cardboard bags, and the main difference lies in the quantitative content of juice in these drinks. If it is juice, then it should be without any additives - that is, only one hundred percent.
Directly squeezed juices are industrially produced from fresh fruits, pasteurized and packaged in containers (bags, cans, bottles, etc.) and sent for sale.

Reconstituted juice - made from concentrated juice, which is produced in places where vegetables and fruits grow. Modern technologies for the production of concentrated juice consist in the fact that part of the water is removed from fresh directly squeezed juice by a vacuum method (this is done using special high-tech equipment). And for the production of the finished product - reconstituted juice - exactly as much water is again added to the concentrated juice as was originally removed. The finished juice is pasteurized, poured into packaging containers and also sent to points of sale.
The content of juice in the composition of nectars according to existing standards should be from 20 to 50% or more, in fruit drinks the juice should be at least 15% of the weight of the drink, and in the composition of juice-containing drinks (i.e. fruits other than limes or lemons must be at least 10%, and in drinks based on lime or lemon juice must be at least 5%.

The composition of nectars always contains sugar, as well as acidity regulators (usually citric acid), but preservatives, any chemical additives or dyes are never added to them. Fruit drinks are drinks that are made from natural berries, and no "chemistry" is added to them, but they always contain a small amount of sugar or honey.
In order to accurately choose a truly high-quality juice or juice-containing drink, it is better to focus on familiar brands of well-known manufacturing companies. They comply with all existing quality standards, in such industries all food safety requirements are met, and the composition and quality of products are very often checked by regulatory authorities.

Which juice is better - in glass or in bags?

In terms of quality, packaged fruit and vegetable juices are not only in no way inferior to juice products in glass containers, but even surpass them. The only disadvantage of juices in packages is that the contents of the carton cannot be considered when buying. But this minus is also a plus: a dense cardboard container reliably protects the contents from the damaging effects of light and sunlight, which can change not only the color, but also the structure of the drink, as well as destroy some of the vitamins it contains. Orange juices especially suffer from light: orange, carrot, apricot, pumpkin.

Some people think that the long shelf life of packaged juices is due to the fact that preservatives and other "chemistry" are added to them. This is not true! Long shelf life of juice products in cardboard containers is achieved only by technological features of production: high quality of raw materials used (fruits, berries or vegetables), absolute purity of the production process at all stages of production (from preparation of raw materials to packaging of finished products) and the use of modern packaging materials, which ensure the safety of packages into which juices are poured for a long time.

Benefits of juice packs

Packaging in cardboard containers has a number of advantages:

• All packaged fruit and vegetable drinks (juices, fruit drinks, nectars) undergo gentle pasteurization during the production process, so they retain almost all the useful properties of the original raw materials - fruits and vegetables, as well as natural color, aroma and taste.
• Bottling and packaging of finished juice into bags are technologically carried out in absolutely sterile production conditions. Thanks to this, microbes do not get into the finished drinks.
• Three-layer cardboard packaging reliably protects the juice from oxygen and light access, therefore all vitamins and microelements are preserved in the juice.
• Affordable price.
• Convenience and light weight of packaging: juices are easy to open, and empty containers are easy to dispose of.
• The only disadvantage of any packaged drinks is that an open pack of juice cannot be stored for a long time even in the refrigerator: after opening, the sterility of the package is violated, the juice begins to come into contact with air, and after a while the fermentation process may begin in it. Therefore, after opening the cardboard package, it is recommended to store the drink in the refrigerator for one day.

If any celebration is planned, we go to the store for several boxes of packaged juice, and just to quench our thirst in the summer heat, we run for a box, naively believing that it will benefit our body. However, it is well known that only freshly squeezed juices can be useful, but what about those that are sold in packages?

The benefits of juice in boxes

The benefits of packaged juice are largely determined by its composition. When choosing this product, you need to carefully consider the label and pay attention to what the manufacturer writes.

Natural juice, “straw extract” or “reconstituted”, is perhaps the most profitable acquisition in terms of benefits for the body. It is the least processed and does not contain the type of flavors, preservatives, flavor enhancers. Such a product may be clarified, unclarified and contain pulp.

A pack of juice, on which “nectar” is written, contains about 25-50% of the natural fruit extract, and the rest is water, sugar, citric acid.

In the juice drink, extracts from fruits and fruits are even less - only 15%, and the rest is water and artificial additives. A juice-containing drink can no longer be called juice. There will obviously be no health benefits from its use, because the percentage of natural components is very small, and the chemical ones are extremely high.

Harm of juice from a pack

The harm of packaged juice is comparable to the harm brought by carbonated sweet drinks. A glass of reconstituted orange juice contains as much as 6 tsp. Sahara! With regular use of such a product, the risk of developing diabetes increases several times.

The harm of juice in packages, which includes a lot of various chemical additives, is even greater. All kinds of phosphates, chlorides, sulfates and others
cause cancer, allergies, gastritis and stomach ulcers. Most of them are the strongest toxins that poison the body.

Nowadays, freshly squeezed juices have become a symbol of health, although it is becoming increasingly difficult to find them. Indeed, vegetable and fruit juices are very useful, even healthier than fruits and vegetables. It takes a long time for the body to process solid food. Nutrients and nutrients from juices are delivered to the cells of the body faster than from solid food, even within a few minutes.

What are the benefits of juices for the body?

Juices are easily digestible, rich in nutrients and vitamins food for the body.

Juices contain vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, potassium, phosphorus, iron. Many juices, for example, plum and beetroot, have a laxative effect, others, on the contrary, fixing. Cucumber and grape juices contribute to self-purification of the body, increase urination, etc. Beet juice increases hemoglobin, carrot juice increases tone, fills our body with energy. Juices contain nutritious fiber and pectin.

The benefits of juices are in daily use, it is only important to choose and store them correctly. Now many restaurants, supermarkets and shopping centers can offer you freshly squeezed juices. It is very important that the juice is prepared right in front of you, and not poured from a jug where the fruit was pressed in advance. Such juice should be drunk immediately, because after 10 minutes it loses its healing properties.

What is packaged juice?

What do manufacturers of packaged juices offer us? The most amazing thing is that the tetra packs do contain natural juice, albeit reconstituted from concentrates.

A concentrate is a natural juice that has undergone heat treatment, from which water has been evaporated using a special technology. Concentrated juices are brought to our country from abroad and they are restored at factories with the help of water and flavorings.

Flavors are added because upon receipt of the concentrate, the separation of the aroma occurs.

What is the harm of packaged juices

So what is the harm of packaged juice? When choosing juice, read the label - after all, the depicted fruit or vegetable does not mean that it is juice inside. Perhaps the bag contains nectar or, even worse, just a fruit or vegetable drink. Manufacturers rely on the fact that the buyer will not read the finely written font, but will believe the bright picture, so if you want to know exactly what you are offered, do not rush to the beautiful label, but read the contents.

What is nectar? According to GOST, nectar is a product obtained by mixing fruit juice, one or more types of concentrated fruit juices, or the edible part of good-quality, ripe and fresh fruits brought to a puree state with water, sugars or honey. The composition of the nectar also includes acidity regulators (usually citric or ascorbic acid).

GOST strictly regulates the minimum proportion of juice that should be contained in nectar - usually this proportion depends on the type of berries and fruits and varies from 25 to 50%. For example, plum and cranberry nectars should contain at least 30% juice, at least 35% in cherry and mango nectars, and at least 25% in passion fruit or banana nectars. In nectars, the use of preservatives and dyes is allowed.

But according to the new GOST, juices cannot contain artificial flavors, dyes and preservatives. Only natural flavors derived from fruits can be added. So drink natural juices and be healthy!

When choosing colorful packaging, do we always pay attention to what is written there - juice, nectar, or maybe even a drink! Often we just combine all these drinks in one word - juice. But juice happens:

direct extraction (such juices are produced directly from fruits or vegetables);


freshly squeezed (they are prepared in supermarkets in front of the buyer);


restored from concentrated juice and specially prepared drinking water. And it is precisely on this very degree of dilution that it depends whether this product will be juice, nectar or a drink. Any additives are prohibited in it: sugar, sweeteners, flavors, preservatives, dyes, etc.

What is nectar?

Nectar, like juice, is produced from concentrated juice (puree) and water, while the fruit part will no longer be 100%, but not less than 20% - 50%, depending on the name of the fruit. The manufacturer has the right to adjust the taste of nectar with the help of sugar, acidifiers (citric acid), pulp, natural flavoring substances. The use of antioxidants (ascorbic acid) is also allowed. But sweeteners, artificial flavors and preservatives remain banned!

However, one should not think that nectar is necessarily worse than juice. After all, basically, nectars are prepared from those berries and fruits, juices from which it is almost impossible to drink in its pure form. Agree that few of us can enjoy a glass of, for example, 100% blackcurrant juice! Or maybe someone met banana juice?

What happens to the juice squeezed from berries, fruits and vegetables?

Modern technologies make it possible to treat vitamins, macro- and microelements contained in fruits, berries and vegetables as carefully as possible, and to save most of them in the final product.

Natalia Samborskaya

Chemical technologist, specialist in quality control of non-alcoholic products

During the concentration process, the juice is subjected to gentle heating at reduced pressure, so the juice becomes “thicker” by 5-8 times! Further, in the case of clarified juices, the ultrafiltration stage follows, after which the juice becomes transparent. The result is a thick and viscous product. So, for example, concentrated clarified apple juice in its consistency is very similar to fresh honey. Such juice goes to the production of packaged juice in "packages", where the amount of water that was removed is returned. Microbiological safety is ensured by the juice pasteurization process. At this stage, the juice is heated to a temperature of 85-92°C, kept for 30 seconds and quickly cooled, this allows you to save almost all the useful substances, taste and aroma of the juice. Now the juice is ready for packing!

Of course, the most useful is freshly squeezed juice, it contains to the greatest extent all those valuable substances that nature has given to fruits! Direct-pressed juices also cost a notch higher than juices made from concentrated juices. However, the reconstituted juice, despite all the passed stages of technological processing, retains many substances that are so important for proper human nutrition.

Orange juice

Orange juice is one of the most popular in our time. It's just a storehouse of nutrients. Glucose, , sucrose, organic acids, ascorbic acid, vitamin A, , potassium, trace elements such as , magnesium, phosphorus, copper and zinc are all found in orange juice. Orange juice is unique in its content of the bioflavonoid hesperidin, which not only strengthens the walls of blood vessels, but also has an anti-inflammatory effect. The substance naringin, which has similar properties, as well as a pronounced antioxidant effect, is found only in grapefruit juice. Thanks to this flavonoid, grapefruit has the same bitterness in taste.

Apple juice

Traditional apple juice contains sugars, malic and citric acids, vitamins C, PP, group B, minerals potassium, iron, pectin. But it should be noted that in clarified apple juice, almost all pectins have been removed, which help our body absorb the remaining nutrients of the juice, improves intestinal motility. Therefore, unclarified apple juice is much more useful than its “brother”, transparent as a tear.

"Bright" juices

A separate place should be allocated to juices, and more often nectars, from berries such as blackcurrant, cherry, blackberry, chokeberry, red grapes. In addition to the high content of vitamins, organic acids and minerals, they are rich in powerful natural antioxidants - anthocyanins. It is these substances that give color to the berries, and for the most part are preserved in the reconstituted juice. Thanks to them, it is easy to find out if the juice is adulterated. Just add a pinch of soda, the color of the natural product will change to gray-green. If the juice has retained its color, this product is fake, it definitely contains synthetic dyes.

So,

We have learned the main points of the technology for making "shop" juices. And what is the conclusion - what is more, harm or benefit in packaged juices?

In summary, we can sum up an optimistic result: choosing high-quality juices from trusted producers, you get only benefits for your body and wonderful taste memories.

To drink or not to drink juice from packages, everyone decides for himself. After all, the main thing is to have as much information as possible in order to make the right choice.

vitamins , juice packs, to drink or not to drink

100% natural, no preservatives or flavors used. Nevertheless, they are made not from fresh fruits, but from concentrate - such juices are called reconstituted, they always write about it on the packages, but not everyone knows what this means. There are far fewer vitamins in this concentrate than in fresh fruit, take it with water to get the juice.

Most store-bought juices last from several months to a year, while any freshly squeezed juice disappears in a few days. In natural fruits, over time, the process of fermentation begins with the release of gases that would inevitably explode the package. To prevent this, manufacturers add preservatives to juices or subject them to heat - temperature effects extend the shelf life, but destroy almost all remaining vitamins. As a result, the juice is reduced almost to a minimum.

Most of the juices presented on store shelves are actually nectars, but not all manufacturers directly write about this in a prominent place on the packaging. Nectar is a sugar syrup with the addition of a small amount of fruit concentrate. The amount of sugar in these is huge and causes great harm to the human body. The fact is that drinks are usually not perceived by a person as a product that is significant in terms of energy, although in fact one liter package of nectar can contain 500 or more kilocalories (which is approximately equal to a full dinner of soup and a second course), and instead of lose weight thanks to such a “proper” diet, a person begins to gain weight.

Cold juices seem less sweet, and the person drinks more, resulting in problems with metabolism and excess weight.

Flavorings and dyes are also added to nectars to give the syrup taste and color, which are also far from healthy. The small percentage of fruit concentrate that is used to make nectar is usually made from low-quality, unripe fruits that do not have a pronounced taste and add acidity to the drink.

The benefits of store juices

If you buy juice without added sugar, then it can still bring little benefit - after all, it still contains a small amount of vitamins. It is important to carefully consider the choice of drink. The composition should not contain sugar, as well as sweeteners - sucrose, aspartame, fructose, and the share of the concentrate should be at least 70%.

As a rule, quality juices are more expensive, as they are made from good ripe fruits, which are not cheap.

It is even more useful to drink fresh juices - packaged freshly squeezed juices that are stored for several days. They are usually sold in large supermarkets, but preservatives and other additives may also be used in their manufacture.