Florida Farm Bureau has submitted comments supporting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposal to amend the standard of identity (SOI) for pasteurized orange juice (POJ) by lowering the minimum soluble solids content from 10.5° to 10° Brix. The FDA proposed an amendment earlier this year in response to a 2021 Florida citrus industry petition.
Following are some comments from Florida Farm Bureau President Jeb Smith to the FDA in support of the Brix reduction:
“Citrus greening deteriorates a citrus tree’s root system which adversely affects the infected tree’s ability to uptake nutrients. Due to an infected tree’s weakened root system, coupled with extreme weather events (i.e., Hurricanes Charley, Wilma, Irma, Ian, Milton, etc.), citrus trees are commonly exhibiting premature fruit drop, lower Brix content, sparse canopy, reduced fruit production and other negative effects.
“As these factors have resulted in a lower soluble solids content in the oranges, Florida’s citrus growers have begun blending their juice with imported juice, primarily from Brazil and Mexico, to meet the outdated SOI for POJ. When the federal SOI was set in the 1960s, Florida oranges averaged 11.8° Brix. Conversely, by the 2022–2023 season, Florida oranges averaged 9.7° Brix.
“While the opportunity to lower the soluble solids content of POJ from 10.5° to 10° Brix is not a fix-all, it allows domestic growers in the juice sector to be more competitive without sacrificing the taste or quality of the product. Additionally, we encourage FDA to consider that there are other orange juice products than just POJ that are subjected to this outdated regulation (i.e., orange juice from concentrate). We respectfully ask FDA to consider lowering the SOI for all orange juice products that are subject to the 10.5° Brix minimum.”
See Smith’s full letter to the FDA here.
Source: Florida Farm Bureau
Share this Post