The percent juice statement
Any drink that names, pictures or looks like fruit or vegetable juice must say how much juice it contains. The rule covers 100% juices, juice drinks and even drinks with no juice that look as if they had some.
| Juice content | Wording |
|---|---|
| 100%, directly pressed | "100% juice" |
| Between 1% and 99% | "Contains 50% apple juice" or "50% juice", a whole number not above the real amount |
| Under 1% | "Less than 1% juice" |
| None, but the label or color suggests fruit | "Contains 0% juice" or "No orange juice" |
- Place it near the top of the information panel, with only the brand, product name, logo or UPC above it
- Bold, in contrasting type, at least as tall as the largest other type on that panel (the name, brand, logo, UPC and Nutrition Facts headings don't count)
- No information panel? Put it on the front near the name, at least as large as the net contents
- A 100% juice with added non-juice ingredients says "with added sweetener" (or "preservative", "ingredients") when the 100% statement sits away from the ingredient list
- Under 100% juice, no other percentage about the juice, such as "100% natural"
21 CFR 101.30(a) to (g), (l)Which drinks need the statement, its wording, placement, type size, the added-ingredient phrase and the ban on other percentage claims.
How the percentage is calculated
- Juice pressed directly from the fruit counts as 100% juice
- Blends and diluted drinks made from pressed juice: percent by volume of the juice in the finished drink
- Juice from concentrate: FDA measures it against a minimum Brix for single-strength juice, for example apple 11.5, orange 11.8, cranberry 7.5, grape 16.0
- A juice changed so much it no longer tastes, looks or nourishes like the original doesn't count toward the percentage
21 CFR 101.30(h) to (k)The minimum Brix table, the 100% rule for pressed juice, volume-based percentages and modified juices.
Naming juices, blends and juice drinks
| What's in the bottle | Acceptable name |
|---|---|
| 100% apple juice | Apple juice |
| 100% juice: 3 parts apple, 1 part cranberry | Apple cranberry juice (juices named in order by volume) |
| The same blend, with only cranberry named on the front | The name must show cranberry is a flavor, or give its amount in a 5% range, like "20 to 25% cranberry juice" |
| 30% grape juice with water and sugar | Grape juice drink, or grape juice beverage |
| Juice made from concentrate | Add "from concentrate" or "reconstituted", at least half the height of the juice name |
| Juice with acid removed | Acid-reduced cranberry juice (the change is part of the name) |
If one juice is named on the label but the bottle also holds others, the name must show it isn't the only juice, for example "Cherry juice in a blend of two other juices".
21 CFR 102.33Names for juice drinks under 100%, multiple-juice blends, from concentrate and modified juices.
The warning for untreated juice
Juice that hasn't been processed to cut the most resistant harmful microorganism by 5-log (100,000-fold) must carry this exact statement:
WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and, therefore, may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.
- "WARNING" in capital letters and bold
- Set off in a box drawn with hairlines
- On the information panel or the front, prominent and easy to see
- It also applies to drinks that contain untreated juice, unless the drink itself is treated
- Not needed on juice shipped to another plant for further processing, if the paperwork says it is untreated
21 CFR 101.17(g)The warning text, format, placement, the 5-log treatment exemption and the further-processing exception.
Juice HACCP and the word "fresh"
- Juice processors fall under FDA's juice HACCP rule (21 CFR 120). It applies whether or not you ship across state lines
- A retail establishment, which provides juice only directly to consumers, is outside it
- Once you also sell to cafes, stores or other businesses, you are no longer a retail establishment under the rule
- "Fresh" used to suggest unprocessed means raw, never frozen, never heated and not otherwise preserved. A pasteurized juice can't use it that way
21 CFR 120.1(a) · 120.3(j), (l) · 101.95(a)Who the juice HACCP rule covers, the retail establishment definition, and the definition of fresh.
Example: 100% apple cranberry juice
Ingredients: Apple juice, cranberry juice.
- Name: Apple cranberry juice. Apple is named first because there is more of it
- "100% juice" near the top of the information panel
- Serving: 8 fl oz (240 mL), the FDA reference amount for juices. A 32 fl oz bottle holds 4
- 26g of sugars, 0g added: sugars from 100% juice are not added sugars
- If you use a concentrated juice and its sugars go beyond what the same volume of 100% juice would have, the extra counts as added sugars
21 CFR 101.12(b) · 101.9(c)(6)(iii)The 8 fl oz reference amount for juices and the added sugars definition, including concentrated juices.
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per container
Serving size8 fl oz (240mL)
Amount per serving
Calories110
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 20mg1%
Total Carbohydrate 29g11%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 26g
Includes 0g Added Sugars0%
Protein 0g
Vitamin D 0mcg0%
Calcium 10mg0%
Iron 0.4mg2%
Potassium 240mg6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Juice label checklist
0 of 8 checkedSaved on this device