Florida celebrates FDA's proposal to lower OJ's Brix level requirements

The Food and Drug Administration announced that it's proposing a new rule to amend the standard of identity for pasteurized orange juice, which would lower the standard for sugar content in the fruit, also known as Brix requirement, from 10.5° to 10°.

Back in 2022, two of the leading associations representing Florida's citrus industry, Florida Citrus Mutual and the Florida Citrus Processors Association, submitted a petition to the FDA to update U.S. OJ sugar content requirements. As a result, Sunshine State growers and processors are celebrating the agency's proposed amendment, saying the changes would "better align with today’s orange crop." 

The organizations argued that extreme weather events and greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing, have affected the average Brix of Florida’s oranges over the last decade."Without these changes," they wrote in their claim back in 2022, "manufacturers of finished pasteurized orange juice products must increasingly rely on higher Brix imported juice to meet or exceed the U.S. minimum Brix for pasteurized orange juice". In the petition, they also stated that seasonal average Brix levels (weighted by volume) are hovering below the minimum of 10.5° Brix, and updating the requirement would allow for flexibility for an industry already under major strain due to extreme climate events.

“Florida’s citrus industry and its champions have tirelessly advocated for more than three years to modernize this Brix standard, and we applaud the FDA for moving it forward,” said Kevin Koppelman, president of Florida Citrus Mutual. “Revising this regulation ensures we can maximize the state’s orange supply."

Robin Bryant, executive director of the Florida Citrus Processors Association, said the change "will modernize the standard to more accurately reflect the naturally occurring levels of the Florida oranges." He explained the revision will also allow local juice processors to utilize the state's citrus more fully.

And for those consumers who worry this rule might have changed the flavor of American orange juice forever, the FDA had some soothing words. In its ruling, the federal organization noted that "lowering the minimum Brix from 10.5° to 10.0° is unlikely to affect the taste of pasteurized orange juice," meaning breakfast will continue to be as delicious as it has always been. 

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