The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has issued a proposed rule to amend a more than 60-year-old Standard of Identity (SOI) for pasteurized orange juice to promote honesty and fair dealing for consumers. FDA says the proposed rule will also provide flexibility to the food industry.
The proposed rule would reduce the minimum Brix requirement (a measurement that indicates the sugar content of a liquid), from 10.5 to 10. FDA says this reduction is in response to a citizen petition submitted by the Florida Citrus Processors Association and Florida Citrus Mutual in 2022.
The agency says it established an SOI for pasteurized orange juice in 1963 to protect the interests of consumers and reflect consumers’ expectations for orange juice. That standard set forth requirements for ingredients, manufacturing, juice content specifications and labeling, as well as the minimum Brix level.
The Florida citrus industry has been challenged by citrus greening and severe weather, which has caused the Brix level of Florida oranges to steadily decline in the past few decades. FDA says this decline makes it challenging for Florida growers to meet the minimum Brix established in the SOI, which causes some manufacturers to import high-Brix orange juice.
FDA expects lowering the minimum Brix from 10.5 to 10 is unlikely to affect the taste of orange juice and will have a minimal impact on the nutrients found in orange juice.
The agency says this proposed update to the SOI for pasteurized orange juice reflects its efforts to strategically update and modernize food standards by better aligning this standard with current agricultural norms and providing greater production flexibility, while maintaining the basic nature and essential characteristics of the product.
A 90-day comment period is open for submissions. Those interested can submit comments online.
