Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network
SAFEFOOD NEWS - Summer 2000 - Vol 4 / No. 4
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Food Safety and Homemade Juices
Fresh squeezed orange juice. Fresh pressed apple cider. All-vegetable cocktail. Americans quench their thirst with these and other fruit and vegetable juices, and the vast majority of those juices are not only healthy but safe. Very rarely, however, juice can become contaminated with pathogens. The pathogen of greatest concern is E. coli 0157:H7, which has no margin for error. It takes only a microscopic amount to cause serious illness or even death. In fact, CDC estimates that E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria are responsible for at least 20,000 cases of severe foodborne illness in the United States each year. Outbreaks of illness from Salmonella and subsequent recalls of unpasteurized orange juice have also been in the news.
Because certain foodborne illness outbreaks have been traced to fresh juices that were not pasteurized, since July 1998 the FDA has required that all juice processors implement a HACCP plan that addresses all points of production. They also require that a warning label be placed on all unpasteurized juices to alert consumers to the potential risk from consuming these products.
Consumers who want to prepare their own juice (fruit and vegetable) may have questions on how to safely prepare this product. Home juice makers who want to make a safe and quality product can begin with the steps recommended in the previous article (FDA Advises Consumers About Fresh Produce Safety). Upon completion of the juicing process, the preparer should clean and sanitize the machine parts that come in contact with the fresh produce. This can be done either in the dishwasher or using a 3-step process that includes washing in warm, soapy water, rinsing in clear water, and dipping in a sanitizing solution of 1 tablespoon household bleach to a gallon of cool water.
The recommendations provided by FDA for fresh produce safety will reduce the risk associated with fresh juices, but will not completely eliminate the risk of foodborne illness. For an even safer product, the homemade juice can be pasteurized by heating it to at least 160º F. This temperature will kill any harmful bacteria (such as E.coli 0157:H7) that may have been on the produce. Leftover juice should be kept refrigerated.
Note that the FDA continues to advise high-risk individuals-children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems-drink only pasteurized juices.
Sources: 1.) Critical Controls for Juice Safety, May 1999. The National Food Safety Database Web Site. www.foodsafety.ufl.edu/consumer/fs/fs223.html
2.) Preparing Fresh Unheated Apple Cider For Home Use, Nov. 97, Val Hillers and Richard Dougherty. Washington State University, Extension.
