Last week Annie asked some great questions about grocery shopping and how to know/trust what you buy. To start answering her questions, I thought I would start with the difference between juice from concentrate and juice NOT from concentrate. I found a nice diagram on Florida's Natural website:

The difference is in how the fruit is processed. Both are considered to be processed though, so eating a orange would still be your best bet for reducing processing in your diet (if that's your goal) and getting the most nutritional value. Not-from-concentrate means the fruit is squeezed, the juice is pasteurized and then packaged. From-concentrate means the fruit is squeezed, the water is extracted (removed), which produces a concentrated form similar to that you see in the frozen food department. At a later time the water is added back in and the juice is pasteurized and packaged. The pasteurization makes the juice safe for consumption and prevents spoilage.

100% fruit juice can be fresh squeezed or made by mixing juice with water. When the label says "no sugar added" that means that any sugar in the food is naturally present (it doesn't mean zero sugar). Remember that 1/2 cup of 100% juice counts as 1 serving of vegetables and fruit in Canada's Food Guide.

I will go into more depth on processing and food additives in future blogs.

Steph Wheler, RD

something nutrishus counselling & coaching