POV: date=May 2009

Some refrigerated fresh juice is sold to consumers. In the U.S., Canada and the U.K. it is labeled "not from concentrate". In the USA all commercial orange juice is pasteurized. "Freshly squeezed" juice is unpasteurised and has a shorter life than pasteurised juice, but is considered better quality. Refrigerated juice shipped in liquid form is traded between producers as direct juice.

Fresh orange juice is typically much more expensive —ranging from two to eight times the price of concentrate. Concentrate is largely an inexpensive sugar product that carries little of the costs of orange juice production.

Health

Fresh orange juice is a source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), potassium, folic acid (Vitamin B₉).

Citrus juices also contain flavonoids that are believed to have beneficial health effects. Fresh orange juice if drunk on an empty stomach, orange juice can exacerbate present gastro-intestinal conditions and/or cause mild and temporary stomach upset. Due to the citric acid, orange juice typically has a pH of 3.5. Drinking or sipping orange juice can therefore cause erosion of the tooth enamel, otherwise known as 'acid erosion'. It is recommended to use a straw so that the juice does not come into contact with the teeth. 200 ml (about 7 ounces) of orange juice accounts for 1 of the recommended 5 pieces of fruit a day by the USDA.

Frozen orange juice concentrate

Freshly squeezed juice and filtered orange juice is pasteurized and is evaporated under vacuum and heat to remove most of the water before it is frozen. This process strips out certain essences and oils. The concentrated juice, about 65° brix, is then stored at about +10°F (-12°C). At this point essences and oils (recovered during the vacuum concentration process) are added back to restore the flavor. To make cans of frozen concentrate for sale, filtered water is added back to bring the brix level down to 42° (about 3 times more concentrated than fresh juice).

When water is added to freshly-unfrozen concentrated orange juice, it is reconstituted. Most of orange juice sold today throughout the world is reconstituted juice. There is a huge difference in the volume of frozen concentrated orange juice and unprocessed juice and this makes a difference in the price the consumer is charged. Orange juice containing pulp seems to be more nutritious than no-pulp varieties because of the flavonoids contained in the pulp.

The major commodity exchanges, including the New York Board of Trade and the Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange, sell futures on frozen orange juice concentrate.

Canned orange juice

A small fraction of fresh orange juice is canned. Canned orange juice does retain Vitamin C much better than bottled juice. However, the canned product loses flavor when stored at room temperature for over 12 weeks.