Archived - Guidelines on Beverages or Beverage Mixes Identified with Name of a Fruit

Beverages which include the name of a fruit within the common name must be labelled and advertised to distinguish them clearly from standardized juices. When fruit juice is present in a significant quantity in a beverage, its inclusion within the common name or as part of a claim is considered acceptable. The statement that the beverage is "flavoured" or is "made in part with fruit juice" is acceptable when the amount of juice present is stated. For more information, refer to Highlighted Ingredient Claims.

Products containing at least 25% of a single juice (as consumed) may incorporate the name of the juice within the common name of the food, e.g., "(naming the fruit) juice drink", a (naming the fruit) juice beverage, or "(naming the fruit) juice cooler". However, since this type of common name emphasizes the juice content of the product, it could create an erroneous impression with respect to the actual juice content of the product. A declaration of the percentage of juice present should appear on the principal display panel of the label, clearly and prominently displayed, in a type size at least as large as that required for the numerical portion of the net quantity declaration.

When the percentage of juice is less than 25%, the word "juice" may not appear in the common name of the food. However, a claim separate from the common name, such as "made with X% fruit juice" may be made. De-characterized juices must not be included in the calculation of the percentage of juice present.

Note that a de-characterized juice cannot be declared as "(naming the fruit) juice" in the list of ingredients since it no longer meets the standard of identity for fruit juice in section B.11.120 of the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) or section 60 of the document Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 4 – Processed Fruit or Vegetable Products, or any of the specifically named fruit juice standards in the FDR or the document Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 4 – Processed Fruit or Vegetable Products. "De-acidified (naming the fruit) juice", "de-coloured (naming the fruit) juice" and "de-flavoured (naming the fruit) juice" can be claimed, as applicable.

When only artificial flavour is used, claims must not give the impression that juice or natural fruit flavour is present. Where natural fruit flavours are used, the product may be described as "containing natural fruit flavours or flavours derived from fruit".

While flavour claims such as "has the taste of freshly-squeezed orange juice" are generally acceptable, care must be exercised to ensure these are not used in a manner that misleads consumers about the true nature of the product.