FSA Letter, 14 July 2003

COMPOSITIONAL STANDARDS - Fruit juice and sugars guidance notes published

(For copies of the Guidance Notes, go to the FSA web site at:

• Fruit Juice: http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/guidancenotes/labelregsguidance/fruitjuicenectarguidanceng
• Sugars: http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/guidancenotes/labelregsguidance/specsugaregsguidance)

The Food Standards Agency has published guidance notes covering two sets of regulations on fruit juices and fruit nectars and sugar products.

The Specified Sugar Products Regulations came into force in England and Northern Ireland on 12 July 2003 and are due to come into force in Scotland and Wales around November 2003.

They lay down reserved descriptions for sugar products and implement a European Commission directive on methods of analysis for testing certain sugars.

The Fruit Juices and Nectars (England) Regulations 2003 will make it easier for people to see how the juice has been made from the information on the label.

Under the new regulations, manufacturers will be able to add vitamins and minerals to fruit juice. So, for example, people who choose not to drink milk could contribute to their calcium intake by choosing fruit juice with added calcium.

And the wording 'fruit juice from concentrate' will be an integral part of the product name if it has been made by reconstituting fruit juice concentrate.

Juices made by mixing fruit juice and fruit juice from concentrate will be labelled as 'fruit juice' with the additional wording 'partially made from concentrate.'