Orange juice drinks full of sugar

Orange juice drinks are far less healthy than people might believe, a new study has found.

The Foundation for Consumers has found some drinks had a very high level of sugar - equivalent to 15 teaspoons - while many of these "fruit juices" contained no Vitamin C.

Foundation manager Saree Ongsomwang said the high level of sugar in some drinks could harm people's health and cause chronic problems such as diabetes and obesity.

The foundation conducted a study in May to look at the level of sugar and Vitamin C in 22 ready-to-drink orange juices.

The drinks were said to have an orange content of 100 per cent, 40 per cent, 25 per cent, and 10 per cent.

The survey found orange juice drinks in 330 ml, 350 ml and 300 ml bottles had high levels of sugar which would compare with 15 teaspoons of sugar, 13 teaspoons of sugar and 11 teaspoons of sugar, respectively.

These amounts are higher than the Thai recommended daily intake, which is for people to limit sugar consumption at six to eight teaspoons a day.

When the Vitamin C content was tested, most drinks were found not have any - despite claims to the contrary on labels by manufacturers.

Only three of the 22 drinks had a Vitamin C content of more than 20 mg per 100 ml.

And Vitamin C is easily destroyed by sunlight. That's why the Foundation believes it's useless to call such drinks healthy or worth consuming to stay in good shape.

Saree said the foundation would submit a recommendation to the Food and Drug Administration that it investigate drinks manufacturers to try to get them to improve the quality of their products and reduce the levels of sugar in their drinks, which could harm people's health.

The total market for orange juice drinks is worth about Bt 6 billion. But Saree suggested it may be better for people to drink fresh orange for health benefits, instead of ready-to-drink "juices".