Update: Juicy Juice - Now From China

I complained about my Juicy Juice Apple Juice coming from China earlier this month at "Juicy Juice - Now From China". At the same time I did send an email to Nestle complaining about where they sourced their apple juice, explaining my concerns. The next day I received the following reply:

Dear Mr. Fry,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Nestlé® Juicy Juice® regarding to inform us you will no longer buy our beverage because it is a product of China. We welcome questions and comments from loyal consumers and appreciate this opportunity to assist you.

The juice itself is processed here in the United States. The apples come from China, which provides over 50% of the apple juice used in the United States. Nestlé is one of the world's largest buyers of apple juice and works with the largest facilities in China. We understand that you question the safety of the product, despite our supervision, but do please be aware that we have long-term relationships with these facilities in China and have established high standards for the apple juice supplied. [Is it juice or apples they are getting from China?] Our quality managers audit these facilities to ensure that they meet our high standards. Nestlé tests every lot of apple juice for both authenticity and compliance to our standards. Product quality is our number one priority and we will continue to follow this issue closely.

We would like to assure you that we have reported your comments to our Marketing department. We are committed to providing you with products that live up to your high standards for taste, quality, nutrition and enjoyment - in short, "the very best."

We appreciate your interest in our products and hope you will visit our website often for the latest information on our products and promotions.

Sincerely,
J********
Consumer Response Representative
Nestlebeverage@casupport.com

Ref: N********

According to this message, he infers that they are importing whole apples from China and only once in the US are they processed into juice. However, later in the message he mentions juice from China. So who knows how they receive the raw material.

I had already suspected that the juice was packaged here in the US as the Tetra Paks are made in the US but thought that the juice was shipped from China concentrated in large tanks. I doubt that they are shipping apples. If they did that, then some would eventually find their way into the supermarkets and I have yet to see any Chinese apples there. Even if the apples are coming into the US, who knows if they were sprayed or even stored in an area where vehicle exhaust gets in contact with them. That can be an issue since they use leaded gas in China.

Here is a link to a good story on why you can expect to find many more Chinese apple products around.

XIAN, China — This is where much of America's apple juice now comes from — the outskirts of historic Xian, where the orchards stretch for miles and miles. Apples are so plentiful here that they are often left to rot in the fields. They are scattered on the ground in old farming villages and pitched against walls by playful little boys like red and gold baseballs.

There are so many apples in China — which over the last two decades turned itself into the world's biggest apple grower — that the world price for apple juice concentrate has been depressed for nearly five years. Apple juice makers in the United States purchase more of China's cheap concentrate every year — though they do not like to talk about it — and every year American apple growers complain of devastating losses. - Export Apple of China's Eye Is, er, Apples - NY Times Article, April 2003 / Posted at Mindfully.org

Here is this news item concerning Chinese products that have failed inspection:

The Government said, for instance, that canned and preserved fruit and dried fish contained excessive bacteria; that 20 per cent of fruit and vegetable juice was substandard, and that some children's products were defective or laced with harmful chemicals. - The Age, Australia

Now it might be that none of the Juicy Juice product is substandard and I have no reason to think that it is, but that only means that there is a higher chance of running across substandard juice sold by other venders.

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Juicy Juice - Now From China - 2 July 2007