Fruit juices
New EU rules will help prevent consumers being misled on fruit drinks
The European Parliament today voted to revise EU legislation on fruit juices. The Greens gave a cautious welcome to the legislative agreement. Speaking after the vote, Green consumer affairs spokesperson Carl Schlyter said:
"These new rules will help prevent consumers being misled on fruit juices and other fruit drinks. Given the potentially important contribution of fruit juices to a healthy diet, it is vital that consumers are not duped into buying unhealthy products masquerading as juice.
"Under the rules adopted today, fruit juices will no longer be allowed to contain sugars or sweeteners. During the negotiations, the Greens were able to extract clearer labeling rules, notably provisions to avoid misleading product naming. This means fruit juices will have to be called for what they are: the practice of using a base juice, like apple juice, and adding smaller quantities of more luxury juices, like raspberry, yet naming the juice solely-based on the smaller component juices will no longer be possible. Fruits in juices will now appear in the name in the order of their proportion.
"We regret that a proposal for the mandatory labeling of fruit nectars as 'sweetened' was not included in the final legislation however."
