Nutritional Composition of Orange Juice: A Comparative Study between French Commercial and Home-Made Juices

Abstract

The study aimed to compare the nutritional composition of commercial and home-made orange juices with a fruit content of 100%, i.e., without dilution with water and without addition of sugars or any other sweeteners. Orange juice samples (n = 12 for both types of juice) were representative of the French market and of French consumers’ habits as determined by a consumer survey. The results showed that both types of juices contained the same concentrations in total sugars and polyphenols and had low levels of dietary fiber (P > 0.05 for all parameters). Commercial orange juice contained less vitamin C (P = 0.035) and folate (P = 0.002) than home-made juice (15% and 27% less, respectively), probably owing to the vitamin degradation that may occur during industrial production (e.g., during pasteurization) and storage of commercial orange juice. The observed differences were of relatively small magnitude overall, however, and within the expected ranges for vitamin loss due to pasteurization and storage at ambient temperature. Indeed, commercial orange juice contained 85% of the vitamin C concentration measured in home-made juice, showing that vitamin C was well preserved in commercial juice. Another study with a larger number of samples would be needed to confirm these observations.