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This is not shocking, given the amount of food processed in the US, it is necessary for these profit making units to operate on economies of scale.

milk, Peanut butter, jams and preserves infact even bread are all "stale" for that matter. From the time they are produced. stored transported, stored again, and then packaged and transported and then bought by consumers. They do come a long way and for sure this doesn't happen in a day!....so people, HAIL LOCAL PRODUCE!

i don't mind squeezing my own OJ at all, but i don't know how long it will keep in the fridge. any ideas? i'd love to make a big batch. i'd be storing it in a plastic pitcher.

I am so spoiled. My local grocery store, Wegmans, sells actual fresh squeezed (in the store) juice. It is expensive and has a short shelf life but it is such a treat sometimes.

Even the "fresh" bread and baked goods at the grocery store can apparently be up to a year old before they're finished off in the oven.

As for jams and preserves being "stale," that's kind of the point...

I'm feeling very pleased about my recent purchase of a Breville compact juicer.

not shocked. I've squeezed my own oj for years now, its the only part about winter I enjoy here in Philadelphia.

kdkaboom, I usually squeeze enough for 3-5 days at a time and store in it a plastic pitcher with a tight fitting lid..stays fresh.....but the taste is truly best the first day.

I see the book costs $22 to tell us something we all knew already. Save the money and buy some oranges and squeeze them yourself.

On the topic of fresh food, I have a small plug to make. A couple of years ago I volunteered for a cacao cooperative in Ecuador for Kallari chocolate. Most chocolate sits as roasted beans in storage facilities for years before it's ground with (if it is good chocolate) vanilla, sugar, and cacao butter, or (if it is bad chocolate), with fillers, fillers, and more fillers. That's true of chocolate that is generally considered pretty good. Kallari processes their chocolate, from harvest, fermentation, drying, roasting, grinding, to packaging, within a few months, if not quicker.

It can now be bought at many Whole Foods locations--not sure about in the midwest, but definitely on the coasts. It's kind of expensive, I think $5/bar, but you get what you pay for.

Oh, and, ALL the money goes back into the coop which is run by the Kichwa people in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

What about Odwalla, which claims to be just orange juice?

I know the above comments act like this is old news, but honestly, I didn't know about these practices. How appalling!

Thanks for the post. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on my orange juice from now on!

So are there any commercial brands that are actually semi-freshly-squeezed? Sometimes it's just not practical to squeeze your own, or spend $8 for a half-gallon of juice squeezed at the store.

Thanks clox! I love having another reason to feel good about buying chocolate :)

If they add "flavor packs developed by flavor and fragrance companies" than I believe by law the ingredient label would need to state this (as in, natural and artificial flavors). Does anyone know if this is the case?

I read labels very carefully, and have never seen natural or artificial flavors in the typical brands of OJ.

With that said, I don't really drink OJ - purchased or squeezed myself. After seeing Harvest of Shame in a college class, I can't support the human slavery in the U.S. citrus trade. And, I live in New England so I can't just buy local oranges. :)

...asinner^...agreed that preserves and jams are supposed to have long shelf lives..but not at the cost of innumerable chemical food colors and additives!

@ilovebutter - it is my understanding that companies are not required to list ingredients in food that are not considered "nutritionally significant". If you really want to know what all is in a food product call the 800 number on the package and ask. In my experience most companies are happy to tell you all the gory details.

We have always, far back as I can remember, squeezed fresh oranges minutes before drinking the juice.

@kdkaboom -- there is little point in making a big batch ahead of time as the taste really deteriorates. Plus, it is so easy and quick just to squeeze several oranges (we have a very little manual squeezer).

Our oranges come from Italy (and Spain too -- the oranges and their sources are different in our French and Swiss grocery stores); I don't think there is human slavery involved in the European citrus harvest. Wonder if it is possible to get organic ethically harvested oranges at home from specialty growers? I bet our fruit and veg man back home in North America would bring it in...

@susrith if you look at the ingredients lists, you'll pretty quickly find brands that are pretty much exactly what you'd make yourself. The TJ's brand of strawberry jam has strawberries, pectin, sugar and corn syrup in it. The only thing not in mine is the corn syrup. Home canned jams can last for a year (according to the FDA) or longer (according to my experience) so I see no reason why companies would waste money extending the shelf life any further.

You missed the larger picture, Emma. Orange juice -- the juice of any fruit -- should be approached with mindfulness. Fruit juice has as much sugar as or more sugar than soft drinks. It has all of the calories of the whole fruit and almost none of the fiber of the whole fruit. It's so calorically dense, it should be considered a dessert rather than a drink or a serving of fruit.

It would be easy to drink the juice of 6 or 8 oranges. But how likely are you to sit down and eat 6 or 8 oranges?

You're better off with the whole fruit from a nutritional point of view. If you must drink fruit juice, consider cutting it with sparkling water.

This is why living in Turkey is so nice. Walk down any side street and you can pay 1 TL (or about 65 cents) for a cup of orange juice that is made from about 4-6 oranges. It's such a treat!

@ Niamh - WEGMAN'S! I, too, enjoy their fresh juices, especially the blend with Clementines.

Great... ANOTHER oj to feel sad about. (tee hee)

Not surprised. Saddened a bit, fairly grossed out, but not surprised.

http://www.abreadaday.com

@ilovebutter - I heard this author inteviewed as well and I believe she said that the "flavour packs" don't have to be listed as separate ingredients because they are technically made of the same constituents that the preserving process removes.

She also said that these packs are produced by major prefume manufacturers and can modify the taste of O.J. to suit regional preferences or to be brand-specific. Creepy if you ask me.

Oops. "Prefume?" Is that your smell before you spritz on the scent? I meant "perfume."

i refuse to drink OJ from carton on the principle of taste. it's disgusting. i don't know how people drink it. fresh OJ on the other hand, is heavenly.

A lot of "fresh" produce has actually been in cold storage for months and months before you buy it.

I'm more worried about the fact that industrial beef is fed CANDY.

Just another form of crud America is selling to it's people to kill them off. No wonder it's a miracle to see someone live to 100 here!

I don't understand packaged orange juice. It tastes *nothing* like fresh squeezed I don't care what brand you buy. NOTHING.

I do enjoy the treat of freesh squeezed now if I am out for a fancy breakfast or purchased from our farmer's market. When blood oranges are in season, we'll usually buy a quart every week.

Fruit juice is not fruit. It is a treat for occasional enjoyment.

my old high school teacher told me that Tropicana has a deal with Scott paper products, which made him think that Tropicana's OJ with pulp was actually OJ with cardboard/paper shreds. ewww

@Niamh: Anyone with a Wegman's is spoiled by definition! =)

But fresh squeezed costs more. A LOT MORE. There is the cost of the juicer and the fact that the fruit will produce far less juice. I say ... eat the orange.