Florida Farm Bureau has submitted comments in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposal to amend the standard of identity for pasteurized orange juice by reducing the minimum soluble solids content from 10.5° to 10° Brix. The proposal follows a 2021 petition from the Florida citrus sector.
Florida Farm Bureau President Jeb Smith outlined the organisation's position in comments to the FDA. He noted the impact of citrus greening on tree health. "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."
Smith explained that these factors have pushed growers to blend domestic juice with imported juice from Brazil and Mexico to meet current federal standards. "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citrus growers have begun blending their juice with imported juice, primarily from Brazil and Mexico, to meet the outdated SOI for POJ.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."
He added that the proposed reduction offers growers operational flexibility. "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." Smith also noted that other orange juice categories face the same regulatory threshold. "Additionally, we encourage the FDA to consider that there are other orange juice products than just POJ that are subjected to this outdated regulation (i.e., orange juice from concentrate).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."
The FDA's review of the proposed amendment is ongoing.
Source: Citrus Industry
