At a glass of orange juice, many first think of the delicious taste and the vitamins it contains. But what about pesticides? And under what conditions are oranges harvested? Öko-Test tested 20 orange juices. One in five orange juices failed – including well-known brands such as Valensina and Granini Drinking Pleasure.
A glass of orange juice for breakfast is popular. In Germany, orange juice is even more popular than apple juice, which is often made from local fruits. The reason to take a closer look at Öko-Test orange juice.
Orange juice tested by Öko-Test
Öko-Test had the ingredients, aroma and taste of 20 orange juices (five of them certified organic) tested – and also assessed the working conditions in which workers in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa harvest the fruit. In addition, Öko-Test examined the used packaging.
The orange juice test did not result in any product with a top price of “very good”. However, testers may recommend eight out of 20 juices as good. Four orange juices did not receive a “poor” or “inadequate” rating, including major brands.
Kallimajha did not go well
Price is no help when buying: The most expensive juices performed the worst, for example Beutelsbacher straight juice orange juice (“deficient”) and Innocent Juice Orange without pulp (“inadequate”). Innocenti’s popular orange juice (belongs to the Coca-Cola group) is the loser in the test. The main reason for this is the poor assessment of working conditions and fair wages and the packaging (one-way PET bottle with recycling).
Pleasant: Some discounters’ orange juices were rated “good.”
Additional results from the orange juice test:
- Of the juices that participated in the test, only three got into it sensors, i.e. “very good” in the taste test and tastes like “freshly pressed”. The winners of the sensory test are exclusively juices made from non-concentrate.
- Whoever drinks orange juice is happy about it Vitamin C content. Only one juice in the test is below the recommended minimum amount of vitamin C of 200 milligrams per liter of juice: K Classic orange juice from Kaufland.
- organic juice may not be better than regular orange juice. It is graded “good”. Alnatura orange juice 100% straight juice definitely recommended.
- Disappointment: Big manufacturers like it Eckes Granini and as a lie twice scored “weak”. Orange juice cut only slightly better High C mild orange with Acerola out, he got “enough”.
Extremely reassuring: the lab found none of the juice pesticides to prove.
Fair work and pay? Etiquette can be helpful when shopping
With the support of Control Union Certifications Germany, Öko-Test investigated whether juice producers can prove the supply chain and working conditions of orange pickers, whether a living wage is paid and whether dangerous pesticides are prohibited.
with the sustainability standard
- The result: while every other supplier fully disclosed their supply chain, only two organic suppliers are fully transparent.
- The Rainforest Alliance label is a good guide when shopping: it’s far from organic or fair trade standards. However, all juices bearing this label did well in Öko-Test’s O-Juice test.
All details can be found in Öko-Test Magazin 01/2022 and online at www.oekotest.de.
Here you can find out more about problematic production conditions, human rights violations on plantations, pesticides in the environment and extremely long transport routes:
orange juice for breakfast? People and the environment in Brazil are paying the price
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