[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] Some Chinese juice drinks sold as "100% juice," "NFC (not from concentrate) juice," and "freshly squeezed fruit juice" have been found to be products made by mixing water and concentrated juice, sparking controversy. Some manufacturers were also found to have labeled products in ways that could confuse consumers. Authorities have launched an investigation and ordered some companies to halt production and make corrections.
According to an undercover report by Chinese media outlet Qilu TV, many products sold as "100% juice" and "NFC juice" at several OEM beverage factories in Henan Province were being made by mixing concentrated juice with water rather than by squeezing fresh fruit.
The investigation found that the factories had no facilities to store or squeeze fresh fruit. Instead, they were stockpiling only raw materials such as frozen mangosteen concentrate, concentrated apple juice, and fructose syrup.
One company representative said the firm was producing goods for several well-known brands sold online and added, "All you have to do is change the label."
Another company also said it could produce goods under whatever brand name the client wanted.
The reporters also confirmed that so-called "freshly squeezed fruit juice" was diluted with water, concentrated juice, or a small amount of NFC concentrate before being bottled and shipped.
Under China’s national standards, only products made by directly squeezing fresh fruit, or juice restored to its original state by adding back only the water removed during concentration, may be labeled as 100% juice.
By contrast, products made by adding more water than needed for restoration to concentrated juice or NFC concentrate must be labeled only as "juice beverage."
NFC, or not from concentrate, refers to juice made by directly squeezing fresh fruit without concentration. If water is added from outside or other concentrated juice is mixed in, it cannot be labeled as "100% NFC juice."
However, cases were also found in which product packaging was cleverly altered to mislead consumers.
One mangosteen juice product removed the phrase "100% mangosteen juice" from the front of its packaging and changed it to simply "mangosteen juice." The ingredient list was also changed from "100% mangosteen" to "water, concentrated mangosteen juice, concentrated apple juice." Another pineapple juice product removed only the word "NFC" from the original "NFC 100%" label.
Some brands were also criticized for altering the letters "NFC" as if they were part of the design or for prominently displaying "100%" in a way that could cause consumers to misunderstand the actual product.
Local authorities have since launched investigations and issued correction orders against some companies, and some production lines are currently suspended, according to reports.
However, some of the problematic products were still being sold on online shopping malls, and some were found to be circulating in their original packaging.
Experts said that using wording on product labels in a deceptive way to mislead consumers is not merely a marketing tactic, but a problem that can undermine consumer trust.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
