Today’s consumer is more demanding of food companies. They want them to not only carefully consider what goes into food products but to also to play a role in developing products which can contribute to their health and wellbeing.
Frucor has taken a leadership role within the beverage industry by having a resident dietitian working alongside R&D, marketing, sales and nutrition agencies to ensure the best choices are determined by a rigorous process of consultation and review. Key projects investigate healthier alternative beverages such as those under the Mizone, h2go and range of juice brands.
Schools
Frucor is committed to working with schools by providing a range of beverages that are consistent with New Zealand food and nutrition guidelines.
To show commitment in providing healthier beverage choices, Frucor chooses not to enter into new agreements to supply Full Sugared Carbonated Drinks or Energy Drinks to any primary or secondary schools and focuses on the supply of a range of healthy beverages. This world first was acknowledged by the NZ Ministers of Health and Education in December 2006.
Percentage Daily Intake Guide
Frucor has made a commitment to provide % Daily Intake values on the front-of-pack label of its drink products to enable consumers to see how much a serving contributes to daily energy needs. The energy thumbnail device has been adopted by both Australian and New Zealand manufacturers and around 500 products already display this device.
Juice Guidelines
Fruit and Vegetables contain natural substances, such as antioxidants, which have a protective role. We’re encouraged to eat more fruit and vegetables and one glass of juice can be a healthy choice for kids who aren’t big fruit eaters.
The NZ Ministry of Health recognises that one 250ml glass of fruit juice can count as one of the recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day. But don’t forget that juice is a ready source of energy and to consider this when deciding on your child’s daily drink choices.
Frucor has consulted with paediatric dentists and dietitians to develop the following guidelines or tips for introducing juice to children.
- For infants aged under one; breast milk, infant formula and water are the recommended beverages for this age group. Frucor supports the view that straight or undiluted juice should not be given to infants.
- For children the following guidelines apply;
- 1-2 years: dilute juice at least 1 part juice to 3 parts water
- 2-5 years: dilute juice at least 1 part juice to 1 part water and encourage drinking juice with meals rather than between
- 6-12 years: one glass of fruit juice, taken with meals, can count as one of your recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
- Caregivers need to set limits around the amount of juice that kids drink to avoid excessive intake (as with most food groups). Frucor recommends that a child should drink in order of priority; water, milk and then juice as part of a well balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. The New Zealand Ministry of Health guidelines recommend that one glass of fruit juice (around 250ml) can count for one of the daily servings of fruit and vegetables.
- It’s good to drink juice in conjunction with food. Juice is a good source of Vitamin C, so it assists in the absorption of iron found in food like bread, cereals and plant foods. Also, the saliva generated by eating helps to protect teeth by washing fruit sugar and acid away. This, along with brushing teeth regularly, helps minimise the possibility of any dental cavities caused by sweet food or drink.
- For teens and adults: One glass of fruit juice can count as one of your recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code
All Frucor products are labelled in compliance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. The nutrition information panel is where you will find values for energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, sugars and sodium expressed as the amount per average serving size, the average quantity per 100ml and the Percentage Daily Intake per serving. The ingredients used in the formulation or recipe are listed in descending order of the amount of the ingredient, starting with the ingredient used in the highest amount listed first.
Religious concerns
We are often asked by members of the Muslim community whether there is alcohol in Just Juice & Fresh Up products. Generally speaking, the base of the natural or nature-identical flavours used in our Just Juice and Fresh Up products are either completely alcohol based or partially alcohol based. Just Juice range maximum ethanol alcohol level is less than 0.14% and Fresh Up range maximum ethanol alcohol level is less than 0.04%. Some of the low level of ethanol contained in the Fresh Up and Just Juice ranges would be naturally occurring from the fruit itself.
Our Technical Manager has checked with the Chairman of the Halal Technical Committee of the Federation of the Islamic Association of NZ and his recommendation is ethanol as flavour carrier containing no more than 0.5% in the final product and used only for the purposes of a flavour carrier and not as an intoxicant, is acceptable. Both Fresh Up and Just Juice are well under 0.5% alcohol content and both only contain added commercial alcohol to carry the flavours (not to have any effect on people).
We had several meetings and presentations to representatives of the Muslim community to discuss this matter and all agreed Just Juice and Fresh Up were suitable drinks.
Please be assured that we take this matter very seriously. Our Technical Director and Purchasing Manager would be happy to meet representatives of the Muslim community if they wish to discuss further.
Please feel free to contact us on 0800 502 929 if there are any queries.
| 