Council Directive 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products lays down rules on the production, composition and labelling of these products. These rules have been amended by Directive 2012/12/EU to take into account technical progress in fruit juice processing and the codex standard for fruit juices and nectars, which was adopted in 2005.
Directive 2012/12/EU will apply from 28th October 2013. The amendment introduces new rules on authorised ingredients, such as those pertaining to the addition of sugars which are no longer authorised in fruit juice, fruit juice from concentrate, concentrated fruit juice, water extracted fruit juice, and dehydrated/powdered fruit juice. For this reason the nutrition claim ‘no-added sugar’ will no longer be permitted on these products. For the purpose of this Directive, tomatoes have been redefined as a fruit, therefore tomato juice and similar products will now fall under the scope of Directive 2001/112/EC. The compositional requirements of fruit nectar have also been amended and from the 28th October 2013 fruit nectars can be produced with, or without the addition of sugars, and/or honey. The amendment also introduces a new category of juice; water extracted fruit juice.
Officials from my Department are working in close cooperation with the FSAI authorities to ensure that clear guidance will be provided to industry on all the implications of the Directive. Consultation with industry representatives is ongoing.
