Friday, July 13

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 Chinawhich 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.

Previous post:
Juicy Juice - Now From China - 2 July 2007

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is quite funny that the representative mentioned...

"The apples come from China..."

and then on the very next line on the SAME sentence, he/she mentioned

"which provides over 50% of the apple juice used in the United States"

Is it really the apples or the juice being imported?

Just stop buying Juicy Juice!

THIS SHOULD BE A WARNING TO ALL!

Thanks for the information on this blog... I WILL NOT BUY JUICY JUICE ANYMORE!

REMEMBER: Powdered milk from China killed their own citizens!!!

Anonymous said...

i just wrote nestle myself informing them i would boycott all nestle products because of their lack of concern for the human rights abuses occuring every day in China.

ChiTown Momma said...

I know it's a year late re: this blog topic but I'd like to add if I may:

I too just found this product(well, husband did) at Target and discovered it for the first time that it has stamped "apple juice from China" on the back of the carton. I too sent Nestle' the same email and received the EXACT same response(must be a typical complaint they receive). From what I know, concentrate is the "freeze-dried powder form of the juice." How they process the fruit in this matter, I really don't know, but it's converted from fresh to powder, so it's cheaper to ship wherever it needs to go. Then, when it reaches it's destination, it's mixed with water at it's canning/bottling/boxing plant and processed as such to be sent all over as juice. I was told this bit of info from a food r&d person who warned me about foreign concentrate. The pesticides, poisons, chemicals, etc.. may still be there. And as one of your readers mentioned, IE, with dog food, toothpaste, BABY FORMULA having poison in it(along w/various toys w/lead paint) there is NO way I'm buying anything from China...and as another said about Chinese people not buying/eating anything from China(one of my best friends' is Chinese) confirms that I made the right decision.

How are we to improve the American economy if we don't buy American?

Unknown said...

Here it is 3/2011 and I just called to talk to Nestle about the Chinese apples. Why would a country that grows great apples need to import apples/juice/powder or whatever it truly is, from another country. Especially from a country that restricts their people from having children because of over population but they have land for apples in orchards that aren't even being consumed. I don't want to be part of something that idiotic. We are Americans, lets act like it. I won't buy anything from Nestle-they can't be trusted.

Anonymous said...

I was surprised and apalled by this myself! You really want to drink a juice that came from China (whether it is the apple of concentrate who cares! - look at the article that just came out today about the over use of a growth substance used in China that is causing thier watermelon to explode!

If you look at other apple juices, they list China as well as other foreign company's Minute Maid is one of them. Old Orchard is one that company that proudly prints "Made in the USA" on it and Tree Top is another.