Choosing fruit drinks based on labels

'Fruit juice' and 'fruit nectar', the legal names

Directive 2001/112/EC establishes the legal names of fruit juices and nectars:

• ‘fruit juice' is the product obtained from healthy and ripe fruit, by pressing or other physical processes, to maintain its characteristic color, flavor, and taste. It may be supplemented with fruit pulp and contains no added sugars. Its label, like that of juice from concentrate, may now therefore state that 'fruit juices contain only naturally occurring sugars';

• ‘juice from concentrate' is obtained by reconstituting concentrated fruit juice with potable water. It maintains the essential characteristics of the juice of the fruit from which it is obtained and may be mixed with
  fruit purée and/or concentrated fruit purée.

• ‘fruit nectar' is a drink made from fruit juice and/or fruit purée with the addition of water and possibly sugars and/or honey or sweeteners, in the versions 'no added sugars' (whose labels must nevertheless state that the product 'contains naturally sugars’). The label must indicate the minimum fruit content, in percentage.

Fruit juices with reduced sugar content

Thetechnological innovation has made it possible to reduce or eliminate the sugars naturally present in fruit juices and fruit juices from concentrates, in response to the growing demand from consumers for products with a lower sugar content.

The Breakfast Directive (EU) 2024/1438 (transposed in Italy with legislative decree 207/2025, effective from June 14, 2026) has therefore amended directive 2001/112/EC to introduce new categories of:

• ‘fruit juice with reduced sugar content’, ‘fruit juice from concentrate with reduced sugar content’, ‘concentrated fruit juice with reduced sugar content’. The sugar content reduction must be at least 30% compared to an average type juice of the fruit from which the product was made.

Distinguish other fruit drinks on the market

The above-mentioned directives strictly regulate the composition and quality criteria, production, and labeling of only those beverages that bear the denomination ‘fruit juice’ and ‘fruit nectar’.

All other beverages ‘fruit-based’ or ‘with fruit’ or ‘fruit-flavored’ or ‘with fruit juice/pulp/puree’ are instead not subject to predefined legal requirements. It is therefore useful to read the ingredient list to understand their nature and composition. The most common products today are:

• extracts, smoothies, shakes. They are beverages made from fresh or frozen fruit, centrifuged or blended, sometimes produced with innovative technologies aimed at preserving their integrity (e.g., cold pressing, high-pressure cold pasteurization), which may contain additional ingredients (e.g., yogurt, milk, aromatic herbs, spices), food additives, and flavors;

• fruit-flavored beverages. Such products often include water, sugar or sweeteners, natural and artificial flavors, sometimes fruit concentrates. Their denomination is descriptive and must reflect the actual composition of the product to ensure transparency of information to the consumer.

The Ingredients list, note well, it must report all ingredients in descending order by weight. Specifying the percentage of the characteristic highlighted ingredients (e.g. fruit juice, yogurt), as prescribed by the Food Information Regulation (EU) No 1169/11.

How to read the label for a conscious choice

To choose a fruit drink in an informed way:

• check the product name, which precedes the ingredient list;

• read the ingredient list, to understand the actual value of the product in relation to the amount of fruit (also in the form of juice, pulp, puree);

• consult any additional statements, such as ‘only naturally occurring sugars’ in juices or the indication of the minimum fruit content in nectars.

Conclusions

Knowing the legal names imposed by Directive 2001/112/EC and the news of the Breakfast Directive (EU) 2024/1438 is useful to navigate among the different fruit drinks available on the Italian market. Correctly reading labels allows you to choose based on the actual quality of fruit, nutritional composition, and transparency of information.

Dario Dongo

Image by Niels Erik Bach Boesen from Pixabay

References

• Council Directive 2001/112/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to fruit juices and certain similar products intended for human consumption. Latest consolidated text: 05/10/2014 http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2001/112/2014-10-05
• Legislative Decree 30 December 2025, n. 207. Implementation of Directive (EU) 2024/1438 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2026-01-05&atto.codiceRedazionale=26G00001&elenco30giorni=false 

• Directive (EU) 2024/1438 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 amending Council Directives 2001/110/EC relating to honey, 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products intended for human consumption, 2001/113/EC relating to fruit jams, jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut purée intended for human consumption, and 2001/114/EC relating to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption. http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1438/oj

• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. Latest consolidated text: 01/04/2025 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/2025-04-01