Trends in the beverage industry – Reaching consumers with fruit shots, immune boosters or juice cures
How vitamin-rich beverages are produced and labelled correctly
June 2021. The beverage industry has long recognised the trend towards healthy, vitamin-rich foods that are not only characterised by high sensory quality but also have a positive effect on health in terms of nutritional physiology. Caffeine shots, juice cures, and vitamin waters have gained a permanent place on the shelves of consumer markets, and online retailers also offer a wide range of innovative trend products. But innovation also comes with new challenges for producers.
In this article, we therefore explore two key questions:
- How is more nutrient-friendly processing possible in the beverage industry?
- How can nutrition and health claims on beverages be made correctly?
How is more nutrient-friendly processing possible in the beverage industry?
To produce a nutrient-rich product from fruit or vegetables, it is necessary to process the raw materials as gently as possible. This is to ensure that not only the desired nutrients are retained, but also the taste and the natural state (FiBL). This is made possible by the so-called HPP process.
The HPP process in brief
High Pressure Processing (HPP) is becoming increasingly popular in the beverage industry because it does not involve heating for preservation. The fruit is subjected to cold pressing and the juice is then processed at high pressure of up to 6000 bar. The prerequisite for this is that the process is carried out in flexible, watertight, and pressure-resistant packaging.
The high-pressure treatment not only inactivates microorganisms but also enzymes. This can prevent or slow down oxidative browning of various types of fruit. Smaller molecules, such as vitamins or secondary plant compounds, on the other hand, are not damaged. In addition, sensory quality is only slightly affected (HPP-Germany; kaleandme, Thyssen-group). The HPP process can thus preserve as many nutrients as possible as well as the original taste.
How to properly make nutrition and health claims on beverages?
In order to show consumers the added health value of a product created in this way, nutrition and health claims, e.g. on the vitamin or mineral content, can be made on the packaging. However, the inclusion of these claims on the product label is subject to legal requirements. The following regulations are applicable to the declaration:
- Lebensmittelinformationsverordnung (LMIV) (EU) Nr. 1169/2011: It regulates how food packaging must be labelled and what minimum information must be included on the packaging.
- Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods.
- Verordnung (EU) Nr. 432/2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health.
The path to correct labelling: the example of vitamin C
In the following, we will use an exemplary case to outline how you can succeed in making a legally compliant claim on your fruit juice product. We assume that the producing company wants to inform the consumer with the following claims:
Vitamin C labelling: 1*: "Vitamin C source" and "Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for normal blood vessel function."
The following legal regulations must be observed for the use of nutrition and health claims:
- Nutrition claim: vitamin C source
Regulation (EU) No 1924/2006 indicates that the claim "source of vitamin C" is only permitted if the product contains at least a significant amount of vitamin C. - Health claim: Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for normal blood vessel function
The health claim on vitamin C may only be used if the product meets the requirements for a source of vitamin C as set out in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 1924/2006 (see item 1).
In addition, the other requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1924/2006 and Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 must be observed.
Thus, for both claims, it must first be verified what a significant amount of vitamin C is. This information can be found in Annex XIII Part A Para. 1 and 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. The starting point is the "reference amount for the daily intake of vitamins and minerals", also called the nutrient reference value. This amounts to 80 mg for vitamin C.
The significant amount, in turn, is defined for beverages as 7.5% of the nutrient reference value per 100 ml, in this case, 6 mg. However, provided the package contains only one serving, which is the case for products such as ginger or turmeric shots, it must contain 15% of the nutrient reference value per serving. To be allowed to use the two claims above, the product in question must then contain 6 mg of vitamin C per 100 ml or 12 mg per serving.
The four steps to a health claim on your product
- Planning a label
Which nutrition and health claims should be included on the label or are possible? - Checking the regulations
What are the requirements to apply the nutrition and health claims? - Carrying out the laboratory analysis
The content determined can be used to check which nutritional or health claims may be made. - Declaration check and finalisation of the label
Now the label can be finalised and an appropriate nutrition or health claim can be applied.
Are you interested in a consulting or analytical service?
If you have any questions about the correct labeling of your beverage, our experts will be happy to assist you. We support you with our vitamin and mineral analysis as well as in making the right nutritional and health claims. National, as well as international labelling tests, round off our range of services for you. Contact your personal account manager or our expert Sarah Hontscha directly. They are looking forward to your enquiry.
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Relevant Sources
[1] Lebensmittelverfahrenstechnik, Heike P. Schuchmann, Harald Schuchmann, 2012
[2] Thyssenkrupp: Das HPP-Verfahren – Der Maßstab für die Haltbarmachung von Lebensmitteln
[3] HPP Deutschland: HPP-Verfahren
Written by:
Ulf Rathjens
Eurofins GeneScan GmbH