Cranberry juice and orange juice have been dragged into the crossfire in a trade dispute between the United States and the European Union, reports Chris Lyddon.

Hit by EU reaction to an American decision to slap tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. The row started on 1 March when President Trump imposed extra import duties on EU exports of steel and aluminium on exports of steel and aluminium from the EU and other countries to the US. The duties were 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium.

EU adopts rebalancing measures in reaction to US steel and aluminium tariffs.

The EU responded with what it called ‘rebalancing measures’ targeting products worth €2.8 billion and taking effect on 22 June. The EU’s list included not only steel and aluminium, but a long list of agricultural and industrial products. It includes orange and cranberry juice.

The EU says it’s simply exercising its rights under World Trade Organisation rules. “We did not want to be in this position,” said “Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström. “However, the unilateral and unjustified decision of the US to impose steel and aluminium tariffs on the EU means that we are left with no other choice.” The rules of international trade could not be violated without a response. “If the US removes its tariffs, our measures will also be removed,” Malmström said. The EU says the actual trade value of the steel and aluminium affected by the US measures is €6.4 billion. It will come up with a further €3.6 billion of ‘rebalancing’ in three years, or after a positive finding in a WTO dispute, which ever comes first.

Canada has also responded by imposing tariffs on a list of products, including orange juice, which has faced a 10% tariff from 1 July. The total value of its list is C$16.6 billion, representing the value of the Canadian products affected by the US measures. “The unilateral trade restrictions by the United States are also in violation of NAFTA and WTO trade rules,” said in Ottawa on 31 May. “Canada will therefore launch dispute-settlement proceedings under NAFTA Chapter 20 and WTO Dispute Settlement.

“Canada will also closely collaborate with like-minded WTO members, including the European Union, to challenge these illegal and counterproductive US measures at the WTO,” she said. Like the EU, she dismissed the US suggestion that its measures were justified by national security. “It is entirely inappropriate to view any trade with Canada as a national security threat to the United States,” she said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking the same day, was more forthright on that subject. “For 150 years, Canada has been America’s most steadfast ally,” he said. “Canadians have served alongside Americans in two world wars and in Korea.”

US cranberry producers have been hit from other directions. Mexico, also responding to Trump’s steel and aluminium duties, imposed a 20% tariff on dried cranberries in June. China has also imposed a tariff on dried cranberries from the US.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Linda Prehn, a Wisconsin grower and president of the Cranberry Growers Cooperative, in an article on the world’s moves to retaliate against the cranberry. “It’s ironic,” she said. “I would say most Wisconsin cranberry growers supported Trump. They’d hate to see their businesses tank because of these tariffs.”

An article published by the Capital Press website on 28 August, put the value of US exports of cranberries and cranberry products at about $300 million a year. It quoted, Terry Humfeld, Executive Director of the Massachusetts-based Cranberry Institute as saying that it was too early to say what the effect on the sector would be. “We believe there is an impact, but don’t have any numbers to back that up, and probably won’t for a few months,” he said.

According to Ocean Spray, more than half the world’s cranberries come from the US state of Wisconsin. They are one of only three fruits native to North America.

Speaking to the FreightWaves website, Kellyanne Dignan, Ocean Spray’s Director of Global Corporate Affairs, said that “any tariffs that increase the price of either our ingredient or branded products will hurt our farmer families’ bottom line.”

“It is also important to note, the tariffs that have been placed on cranberry products do nothing but raise prices for global consumers, as there is no domestic production to protect outside of the US, Canada, and Chile,” she said.

By Juan Manuel Pérez, Quality Control Manager, Lemon Concentrate, Spain
 

There is a growing mentality amongst consumers that added sugar in drinks, and in food in general, is detrimental to health. In some countries, such as the UK, a tax has been imposed on the addition of sugar in soft drinks and sweetened beverages.

The tendency in Europe is to reduce the quantity of sugar added to food or use sugar from natural sources.

An alternative option to traditional sugars is to use sugars derived from fruit or, in other words, deionized fruit juice concentrates. These are produced from squeezed fruit which is then filtered, decoloured, deionized and subsequently concentrated. Characteristics such as acidity, colour and flavour are eliminated during the process, resulting in a transparent, colourless concentrate with a neutral flavour constituted fundamentally by sugars derived from the fruit. This can then be used as a natural sweetener in many foods.

These concentrates are mainly obtained from grape, apple and pear juice, although other fruits such as citruses, carob and pineapple can also be used.

The principal nutritional benefit of these products is that they offer an ideal balance between the sugars from which they are constituted, a low glycaemic index and, as such, a slow increase in blood sugar levels when consumed as part of a specific foodstuff.

Likewise, the use of these products allows for clean labelling as they can be denominated within a list of ingredients such as ‘fruit sugars’, as well as for possible claims such as ‘with 100% natural fruit sugars’.

BOX-OUT BELOW

Possible claims that can be used in products in which they are included are:

• Contains natural fruit sugars
• Low glycaemic index (provided it is shown in the incorporated food matrix)

Possible denominations within the list of ingredients:

• Concentrated fruit extract
• Fruit sugar

Origin, production and application

In the industrial process, only physical extraction methods are applied so that the sugars that are naturally present remain in the final product. These sugars are in no way obtained using other techniques of hydrolysis of other superior sugars (polysaccharides, oligosaccharides) with the use of chemical products and/or enzymes. Figure 1 shows the flowchart of the manufacturing process.

Fruit                                Extraction                          Clarification                       Purification                Concentration             Mixture                               Pasteurization                    Packaging           

Figure 1: flowchart of the manufacturing process of deionized concentrate

Source: Lemon Concentrate – www.lemonconcentrate.com

The deionized fruit extract is a liquid in the form of a concentrated syrup containing a dry matter of 65-70% with a high viscosity. It has a sweet flavour similar to sucrose and its organoleptic properties allow for its application in various food matrices such a wide range of drinks, dairy products, ice creams, sweets, jams and confectionery depending on the application. This range of application can go from doses of very few g/kg even up to doses greater than 90g/kg). The brix level of the product ranges between 65-70 and the pH between 4-5.

Nutritional composition

This product is composed mainly of sucrose, glucose and fructose in variable percentages depending on the fruits used. They can be manufactured from a single fruit or from a mixture of fruits in different proportions. Table 1 shows the concentration of the different sugars in some of the fruits used in the manufacture of these products.

Table 1: The concentration of different sugars in some fruits used in the manufacture of deionized juice.

Source: Lemon Concentrate – www.lemonconcentrate.com

The energy content of these products is the same as that of the sugar (4 kcal and 17 kj/g of dry matter). This energy content varies according to the dry matter of the final product, ranging between 265 kcal and 1105 kj to 280 kcal and 1,190 kj (per 100 g of product).

Food safety

From a food safety perspective, deionized juice has a very low content of residue of pesticides, mycotoxin and heavy metals which in many cases remains below quantification limits. On a microbiological level the product presents an absence of spoiling microorganisms (yeasts, moulds and acidophilus bacteria), coliforms and E. Coli and pathogens.

Properties: Glycaemic index and naturalness

Though these products contain the same energy content as sugar, they present a low Glycaemic Index (GI<55) due mainly to their high level of fructose. However, unlike crystalline fructose which is usually used in food formulations and which is obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin, the deionized concentrate is 100% fruit sugar extracted only by physical processes. Table 2 shows the Glycaemic Index of some sugars and foods, as well as that of the deionized fruits.

Table 2: The Glycaemic Index of some sugars and foods, as well as that of the deionized fruits

Source: Lemon Concentrate – www.lemonconcentrate.com

When we eat any food that is high in sugar, the levels of glucose in the blood increases progressively as the starches and sugars they contain are digested and assimilated. The speed with which different foods are digested and assimilated depends on the type of nutrients they are composed of, on the quantity of fibre present and on the composition of the remaining foodstuffs present in the stomach and intestine during digestion.

These aspects are valued according to the glycaemic index of the foodstuff. This index is the relation between the area of the curve of absorption of an intake of 50g of pure glucose over time and that obtained when ingesting the same quantity of foodstuff in question.

The glycaemic index is determined in laboratories under controlled conditions. The process consists of taking blood samples at short intervals from a person who has consumed pure glucose solutions and comparing this with their consumption of the foodstuff in question. Despite being somewhat difficult to determine, interpreting the results is very simple: high indexes imply rapid absorption while low indexes indicate slow absorption.

This index is of great importance for diabetics given that they must avoid rapid increases in glucose in the blood.

Carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index can cause major problems in both controlling diabetes and in the formation of fats.

Deionized fruit concentrates contain a low Glycaemic Index so they produce a slow increase in blood sugar levels and can in turn aid the reduction of the Glycaemic Index of the foodstuff to which it is applied. Providing the final product presents a tested Glycaemic Index, an adequate glycaemic load and a similarly adequate nutritional profile, its consumption can be recommended to people with diabetes and pre-diabetes.

Furthermore, this type of product also presents added value compared with conventional sugars (cane or beet, glucose and fructose syrup), in that they are commonly used in the formulation of food due to their positive image of naturalness because they are 100% derived from fruit, something that allows for clean labelling on the products that they are included in. They also provide a balanced profile of sugars, because the sugars are naturally present in the fruit in the first place.

By Ruben Verbruggen, Managing Director, Vero-bio b.v., The Netherlands

Most consumers are under the opinion that with a world taking more and more responsibility for sustainability and health, the use of pesticides is changing and is something of the past.

Well, let’s look at that past. While humans originally cultivated their crops organically, the use of chemicals in agriculture actually dates back way further back than most people think, with early records evidencing its use as far back as 2500 BC with the use of sulphur in agriculture to harmonise bacteria’s and fungus, to around 300 BC when arsenic was used to protect citrus trees against caterpillars, beetles and aggressive ants.

The Romans discovered that amurca, a residue from olive oil, was a poisonous ingredient for most ants, moles and weeds as they looked for solutions to the many crops affected by devastating diseases.

The scientific revolution during the Renaissance, led by Mr. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in 1675, acknowledged the existence of bacteria. It also created awareness about the use of poisonous pesticides, which resulted in the ban of arsenic and the development of seeds by the French government.

By the nineteenth and twentieth century, the development of large scale use of chemicals was being applied to agriculture worldwide. The period after the 1950s was labelled the ‘pesticide era’. Many areas were looking to increase productivity and pesticides sometimes tripled output.

Pesticide definitions

To have a better understanding of the word ‘pesticide’, it is important to differentiate the types of pesticides, which can be classified into five categories:

1)         Insecticide (applicable to insects)

2)         Nematicides (applicable to soil nematodes)

3)         Herbicides (applicable to weed)

4)         Rodenticides (applicable to rodents)

5)         Fungicides  (applicable to bacteria’s, viruses and fungus)

During the ‘pesticide era’, the industry and farmers discovered the advantages for higher and specific use of pesticides. Farmers were producing more per acre and pesticides improved efficiency and effectiveness. The plants were less affected by damage and disease and the produce was more appealing. More appealing fruits gained a higher price on the market, driving more farmers to use pesticides. While the industry was eager to gain more produce and higher profits, it ignored and denied the negative consequences for using pesticides.

Selective use

If farmers are not selective in their use of pesticides, it causes the destruction of other beneficial organisms. Growers that continue to use pesticides on a large scale experience that certain unwanted organisms become resistant to certain pesticides, which leads to overdosing of pesticides – and this causes damage.

But a much bigger concern is the accumulation in the food supply chain. When organisms eat each other, the biological mass reduces but the amount of toxin remains the same – this is known as biological stacking. The animal or human at the end of the food supply chain will receive a consolidated amount of toxins due to accumulation in the food supply chain.

The pesticides will also reach the human body when soil is affected by too much pesticides, leading to the infection of groundwater, which is often used for drinkable water for people.

Consumer driven

Most consumers recognize and accept that the use of chemical pesticides is not good for the environment and human body. Still, most make the decision to buy goods in which pesticides have been applied, mainly from an economical point of view. The price is lower and the product is often appealing.

However, the average person is becoming more and more aware of the food they consume. They are stimulated and driven into directions of healthier and more sustainable produced food. Governmental acts force industries to use less sugar and salt in products, while food scandals help consumers to evaluate their purchase decision of the products they are buying. Industries react by offering a wider range of ‘light’ versions against their traditional products, while at the same time forcing their supply chain to work proactively on sustainable food production.

In the juice and beverage industry, we are seeing that traditional orange and apple juices are being impacted by these government acts and consumers buying decisions, and the industry is reacting by offering alternative ‘light’ beverage versions.

The new trend is to find innovative products to take a piece of the growing demand for organic juices. The increase in demand for organic certified juices is especially strong in recent years and is forecast to remain strong for the next five to ten years. Some reports indicate that the organic apple juice market will grow with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20%.

Environmental mentality

Most studies indicate that the main individual driving factor for consumers to buy organic juice is ‘health’, while the collective driving factor is ‘environment’.

Consumers associate their individual choice for organic produce with personal health, but as group they claim organic produce is better for our environment with a preference for produce from their own region. Whether or not an organic produced and certified juice is more ‘healthier’ to a non-organic produced and certified juice is questioned in some articles – the fact is that consumers are making their choice.

Most food companies are busy trying to take a piece of the organic market and social compliance is definitely a new trend in the food supply chain. Consumers associate organic certification with sustainability, with labels like fair trade and rainforest alliance. However, the food industry, in general, knows that ‘solely organic’ cannot be considered sustainable, unless the social compliance is met as well.

Organic limits

We are seeing lately a strong pressure on the supply chain for organic certified juice with social compliance, by means of certifications such as SMETA, SA 8000 and BSCI.

The increase in demand for organic fruit juice is also stimulated by a continuous rise in demand for organic produce coming from the baby food market. This trend is driven by the fast-paced life of modern day parents. Most people now live in urban areas, are time poor, and do not want to spend time on the preparation of food at home. So, they tend to buy instant food products to fulfil the basic requirements of their infants. Government legislation also has a hand in this market by stimulating organic fruit juice in kindergartens and schools.

The baby food market is throwing up other challenges for the supply chain in that it is, for obvious reasons, stricter about the use of organic raw materials, especially with regard to presence of phosphonic acid and fosethyl. Phosphonic acid and fosethyl have been widely used as organic fertilizer, which has affected soil and trees. The growth of the baby food market means additional pressure on the production of organic and baby food raw materials. In most fruit juice segments, it is hard to keep fulfilling the demand coming from the baby food market with its stricter regulations.

Looking to the future, with a population of around seven billion people worldwide, the question is where we will reach our boundaries when we focus on expanding organic produce worldwide.

Organic produce limits the produce per acre and is continuously under threat from diseases for which no organic substance or organism has been found to prevent a lower output and/or infection of other plants.

The organic question

There are more and more producers deciding to convert to organic farming, being attracted by the high demand and envisioned higher pricing for their produce. The risks and higher costs of production are being accepted and seen as an investment as a strategic move in their business concept.

The industry is aware of the challenges the organic juice market is facing with uncertainty if supply can keep up with demand. More exporters are starting to work closely with farmers, and on joint production projects helping them over the technical and agronomist obstacles.

This gives growers access to lower processing, packing and labour costs and enables them to deliver high quality products fulfilling the latest quality standards demanded by the market.

This continuous growth of the organic market shows no signs of slowing down. Organic products boosted the juice market in 2017 and statistics show now that the purchase of organic fruit juice is becoming a habit amongst consumers rather than a purchase for a special occasion. The number of organic farmers is growing, but the question about availability of raw material certainly exists.

The continuous trend of consumers eating healthier and more responsibly, and the focus on sustainable farming, is likely to lead to an increased need for organic juices.

By Kristen Farr, Innovation & Marketing Manager, iTi tropicals, USA

While orange, apple and grape juices have solidified their role in the juice marketplace, there are new flavours emerging looking to steal the spotlight. Exotic fruits like acerola, dragon fruit and mangosteen are powerful fruits that blend well with other juices and add new and exciting flavour profiles. Their colours and flavours are far from ordinary. Many consumers are traveling more and being exposed to flavours, fruits and cuisines that are not part of their normal repertoire. With this increased wanderlust, pallets are expanding. Consumers are seeking out the exotic fruits and flavours tasted on their travels.

Dragon fruit, mangosteen and acerola, all have unique properties that make them excellent partners to juices ready for a facelift. Take for example juices like mango, guava and passionfruit, they have secured places in the juice marketplace both as standalone flavours as well as blends. Over the years, many fruits have crossed the barrier from exotic unknown to available to all of us. Now dragon fruit, mangosteen and acerola are new flavours ready to make the leap.

Unique profile

Let’s take a closer look at each of these exotic fruits. First up; acerola, a small, deep-red, cherry-like fruit native to the West Indies, Brazil, and the Caribbean Islands. Also known as the Barbados cherry or West-Indian cherry, acerola is one of the most vitamin-rich fruits. It is a potent source of natural vitamin C and bio-flavonoids, as well as vitamin A, vitamin B1, B2, B3, iron, phosphorous, and calcium. Its pulp has a distinctive fruity and sweet flavour described as a cross between a tart lime and a berry.

Acerola juice can be used in many products and can be consumed as a straight juice but is often paired with others. The tartness of acerola blends well with other juices such as banana, papaya, mango and coconut water. It is more recently being used as a natural source of Vitamin C replacing ascorbic acid in ‘clean label’ products.

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Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya or strawberry pear, is the probably the most beautiful and strange looking fruit in the cactus family and is growing in popularity. Dragon fruit is cultivated in the subtropical and tropical regions of Central Mexico, Central America, South America and Southeast Asia. Upon maturity, dragon fruit reaches its optimal sweetness. The fruit has a hot pink or reddish skin with greenish scales and the edible inner flesh is white, pink or red with numerous small black seeds. The dragon fruit is most commonly known for its natural deep red-crimson colour and slightly sweet taste often compared to that of a kiwi or pear. The texture and flesh is certainly comparable to a kiwi however its subtle flavour and refreshing juiciness are closer to a melon.

What intrigues consumers is its visual appeal from the beautiful pink colour. When used in fruit juices the seeds are typically removed and a pink juice is left to blend. Dragon fruit is very appealing to consumers due to its exotic nature and vibrant colour. It tastes and looks great in tropical drinks, smoothies and cocktails. Dragon Fruit blends well with most fruits including banana, guava, coconut cream, pineapple, papaya and mango. It brings an exotic feel and colour to a product without overpowering the palette.

<INSERT DRAGON FRUIT IMAGE NEAR HERE>

Queen of fruits

Another exotic fruit of note is the mangosteen, also known as ‘the Queen of Fruits.’ The mangosteen’s exterior is round, dark-purple/red-purple and smooth. Inside, there are 4-8 triangular segments of white, juicy, soft flesh that may or may not contain seeds. It is said to have numerous health benefits and tastes somewhere between a sweet orange and a peach. The mangosteen has a slightly acidic flavour, but is also both luscious and delicious at the same time.

It grows mainly in Southeast Asia, south-west India and small pockets of other tropical areas in regions such as Puerto Rico and Florida, where the tree has been introduced. Mangosteen’s delicate flavour brings a taste of the tropics to any product. It blends well with other juices including peach, passionfruit and coconut water and is also gaining popularity as a delicacy and a fine, exotic dessert ingredient. It can be incorporated into juice blends, nectars, blends, smoothies and cocktails.

The processing of dragon fruit and mangosteen are relatively straightforward. The fresh fruit is received into the plant and undergoes quality inspections prior to washing. The tops or crown are then cut off and the fruits are washed again before removing the exterior skin and peel. Next up in the process is pulp extraction where all of the flesh is collected in tanks to await further processing. Most fruit will go through an evaporator, screener to remove the seeds in the case of dragon fruit, and then the pasteurization process begins. Along the way are several quality checks to ensure the products is both safe and consistent. The fruit juice is then flash frozen and stored until it is ready to be shipped.

Juice innovation

In US juice markets these three exotic fruits are starting to make an impact. They are blended with better known juices and used in super fruit blends for their antioxidant properties and/or vibrant colour. In other areas of the world such as Brazil, acerola is an established juice and is just as common as orange is in the US.

In order to stand out in an increasingly crowded category, juice manufacturers must look to innovate with new juices and this is where exotic fruits come into play. Less familiar fruits can also boost the nutritional profile of juices by adding the functional benefits consumers are seeking. As health, nutrition and clean label remain key drivers in guiding innovation within the beverage industry, consumers are looking for functional beverages that deliver benefits such as immune health, vitamin support and the promotion of overall well-being. Better-for-you functional beverages that deliver health benefits are impacting the use of both traditional and exotic fruits. Cold-pressed juices and high-pressure pasteurization (HPP) technologies have helped to drive tropical fruit flavours by maintaining the bright colours.

Within the food and beverage industry, and especially in the beverage segment, exotic fruits still make up a sizeable portion of new product development and launches – and it is only increasing. This should come as no surprise considering the consistent growth in popularity of tropical fruits. For many beverage manufacturers, line extensions provide the perfect opportunity to experiment with unique fruits and flavours, leading to increased consumer familiarity and, consequently, increased consumer demand. There are several factors that contribute to the trend of exotic fruits, but overall it is the consumer’s desire for health and innovation that has pushed manufacturers to think outside the box, beyond apple, orange and grape.