Breaking new ground in the analysis of juice with steam distillation The International Fruit and Vegetable Association held a series of Technical Webinars including a Quality webinar with Dr Eduard Wiedenbeck as a guest speaker Here we review the analysis of citrus fruit juices, particularly determining the quality of citrus essential oils according to their main constituent, D-Limonene. As 2021 was the FAO’s International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, it is inevitable to remind ourselves of the important role that citrus fruits play in maintaining our health. Oranges, lemons and grapefruits ..read more

  Return Logistics – don’t waste valuable materials and don’t waste cost, say Octobox With our world changing rapidly, we are having to evolve constantly. Pivoting from our original goals to meet the demands or expectations of our supply chain or the end consumers. This is what makes the Juice Industry so exciting. Things change in commodities – potentially on a daily basis and today this also accounts for how efficient we manage our supply chain. Historically the juice industry was born into steel drums, a very robust packaging which was required to ship the cargo in open hatch reefer ve ..read more

  Lemon fruit is a rich source of nutrients, including flavonoids, citric acid, vitamin C and minerals (e.g. potassium), which provide numerous health promoting properties. Dr Soraya Bellini, Head of Food Chemistry at CIATI in Argentina, discusses. Argentina Lemon production is limited to a small number of countries and regions because of the plant’s extreme sensitivity to low temperatures. Argentina is one of the southernmost countries around the world, with tropical weather in the North and produces around 3,542,000 tonnes of fresh citrus fruits annually. Of the 364,800 tonnes exported ..read more

According to the latest estimates, Spain produced 7.045 million tonnes of citrus in the 2020/2021 campaign, i.e. 12.6% more than in the 2019/2020 campaign and 6.2% more than the average of the previous five campaigns, ranking as the fourth-highest harvest. In the domestic market, there was an 11% increase in mandarin consumption. Exports until June totalled 3.6 million tonnes, with a value of almost 3,400 million euro, i.e. 7.1% higher than the average of the last five seasons. The commercial balance is very positive, 3,208 million euro, with a coverage rate of 2.1%. The Ministry of Agricultur ..read more

The WCO Secretariat has released its annual Northern Hemisphere Citrus Forecast for the upcoming season (2021-22). The preliminary Forecast is based on data from industry associations from Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, in addition to the United States (based on USDA reports for Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas). Philippe Binard, Secretary General of WCO stated: “The Forecast shows that the 2021-22 Northern Hemisphere citrus crop is projected to reach 29.342.000 tonnes, which represents a 1.27% decrease compared to the previous season”. Orange production ..read more

ADM has acquired Flavor Infusion International SA, Panama City, Panama, a supplier of liquid and powder flavours, emulsions, beverage systems, juice bases, mixes and other ingredients.  “We’re excited to open up new growth opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean with the addition of FISA,” said Vince Macciocchi, President of ADM’s nutrition business. “Our nutrition segment has been delivering profit growth of 15% to 20% a year, and our flavours business has been an important driver of that success, with annual sales growth of more than 10%. This acquisition represents another imp ..read more

Coca-Cola HBC annonces the completion of the acquisition by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Coca-Cola HBC Holdings BV of approximately 52.7% of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Egypt SAE (CCBCE) from MAC Beverages Limited (MBL) for a cash consideration of USD304 million. The acquisition gives Coca-Cola HBC access to the second-largest non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) market in Africa by volume, building on existing scale in Africa and increasing Coca-Cola HBC’s exposure to high growth geographies. There is a significant opportunity to leverage Coca-Cola HBC’s proven route-to-market capabilities ..read more

Makers of lemon juice in South Africa may be slapped with anti-dumping duties by the US, if a petition against them succeeds. Last December, a US citrus juice maker, Ventura Coastal, filed a petition with the United States International Trade Commission, requesting that the US government impose anti-dumping duties on lemon juice from South Africa and Brazil. It alleges that lemon juice from South Africa and Brazil is sold at less than fair value in the US. Should the petition succeed and anti-dumping tariffs be imposed, South Africa’s juice processors will be left with a lemon juice glut, Andr ..read more

  Attributes for a Healthy Life Sudipta Bhattacharjee, Research Analyst with Zenith Global, defines functional juices as those providing a health benefit beyond their basic nutrition content, incorporating physiologically active added components. The functional juice market has been growing steadily year on year, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating further growth. The pandemic has changed consumers’ attitudes towards health and immunity, as well as focusing on the health benefits of ingredients in products they are consuming. Although the aspect of ‘functional’ juices might have been ..read more

Consumer interest in botanicals is growing and can help your brand stand out on the shelves, writes Michel Aubanel from Kerry. Consumers who want clean label and sustainable ingredients are attracted to products that contain botanicals. This is especially true in beverages, where botanical flavours add a refreshing and natural ‘pop’ to taste. The use of botanical ingredients such as sage leaf and rose bud is also growing in categories including bakery, dairy and confectionery. BOX: The interest in using botanical ingredients in food and beverages is on the rise worldwide, with regions includin ..read more