You’re most likely under the impression that juice from concentrate is worse for you than juice that is not. But in reality, as long as no additional sugars and preservatives are added, there really isn’t any difference!
The Process
Both types of juices go through a similar pasteurizing process which involves removing potentially harmful pathogens that could have been in the fruit. The squash is heated quickly to kill off pathogens. “From concentrate” juice is juiced directly from the fruit before being filtered to extract the water through a processor – this saves space when it’s being transported. Before it is packaged up and sold to the public, water is added again and then pasteurized. Whereas “not from concentrate” juice is produced by juicing the fruit before simply pasteurizing it.
Nutritional Differences
Unless additional sugars and sweeteners are added, you may be surprised to hear that juice “from concentrate” and juice “not from concentrate” have the same nutritional value. Calorie content is the same, and the process has no impact on the nutrient density either. So when you see companies claiming and promoting the fact their squash is never from concentrate, it generally doesn’t make any difference!
Ingredients
It has been pointed out by The Academy of Nutrition and Diabetics that different brands of squash from concentrate occasionally add different ingredients during the processing stage. Some brands from concentrate add additional vitamin C to their squashes while another brand may add extra sugars which would result in a higher calorie content, and is much less healthy.
Summary
So it turns out that “not from concentrate” isn’t necessarily healthier than “from concentrate”. However, when choosing juice products, it’s important to read nutrition labels to identify any added sugars and sweeteners especially if you’re aiming to stick to the healthier option. Added sugars may be labelled as “corn syrup”, “dextrose”, and “high fructose corn syrup”.
