Juice Products - Child Nutrition Programs

I PURPOSE

This Instruction clarifies the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) policy regarding the use juice products in the child nutrition programs.

II AUTHORITY

7 CFR 210.10, 7 CFR 220.8, 7 CFR 225.16, 7 CFR 226.20

III BACKGROUND

There are a variety of juice products available on the market of today. This Instruction clarifies the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) policy regarding the use juice products in the child nutrition programs and clarifies the types of juice products that can be included in a reimbursable meal.

IV DISCUSSION OF JUICE PRODUCTS - CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

A Child Nutrition Program -- Meal Pattern for Ages Birth through 11 Months

Juice products do not qualify for reimbursement as the fruit/vegetable component for breakfast, lunch or supper. Only full strength fruit juice is reimbursable as a snack for infants ages 8through 11 months in the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program infant meal pattern.

B Child Nutrition Programs - Meal Pattern for Ages 1 Year through 4 Years and Grades K through 12

Full-strength fruit or vegetable juice may be used toward meeting the vegetable/fruit component of all meals served in the child nutrition programs when the following conditions are met:

1. In lunches and suppers, juice may be used to meet no more than one-half of the minimum quantity requirements for the age or grade group being served.
2. As a supplemental food in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program for children, juice may not be served when milk is served as the only other component of the supplemental food pattern.

V JUICE AS A VEGETABLE/FRUIT COMPONENT

The following juice products may be used toward meeting the vegetable/fruit component when these conditions are met:

A Full-Strength Fruit or Vegetable Juice

Full-strength fruit or vegetable juice is an undiluted product obtained by extraction from sound fruit. It may be fresh, canned, frozen, or reconstituted from concentrate and may be served in either liquid or frozen state or as an ingredient in a recipe. Examples of full-strength fruit and vegetable juice are apple (including cider), grape, grapefruit, grapefruit-orange, lemon, lime, orange, pear-apple, pineapple, prune, tomato, tangerine, and vegetable. The name of the full­ strength fruit or vegetable juice as it appears on the label must declare "100 percent juice."

B Juice Drink

A juice drink is a product resembling juice which contains full-strength juice along with added water and possibly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, or flavorings. A juice drink may be canned, frozen or reconstituted as from a frozen state or a drink base or as an ingredient in a recipe. Examples of juice drinks are apple juice drink, grape juice drink, orange juice drink, and pineapple-grapefruit drink. A juice drink may be used toward meeting the vegetable/fruit component 
of the child nutrition programs under these conditions:

1 It must contain a minimum of 50 percent full-strength juice. (Note: Nectars and some common juice drinks, such as lemonade and cranberry juice cocktail, do not contain sufficient quantities of full-strength juice to meet this criterion. Nectars do not commonly contain 50 percent juice and lemonade and cranberry juice cocktail require dilution beyond the 50 percent limit for palatability).

2 Only the full-strength juice portion of the juice drink may be counted toward meeting the vegetable/fruit component.

3 The name of the product as it appears on the label must contain words such as "juice drink" or "diluted juice beverage" and must indicate the percent full-strength juice in the product.

4 The label ingredient statement must list "juice,11 "full-strength juice," "single­ strength juice," "reconstituted juice," "juice from concentrate," or ''juice concentrate."

C Juice Concentrate

Juice concentrate may be used toward meeting the vegetable/fruit component of the child nutrition programs. When a juice concentrate or a juice drink concentrate is used in its reconstituted form, it is considered a full-strength juice or a juice drink, as appropriate, and is credited accordingly. When a juice concentrate is used in its concentrated form, it may be credited on a reconstituted basis; that is, credited as if it were reconstituted. For example, a ¼ cup gelatin product containing 1 tablespoon of orange juice concentrate per serving could receive 1/4 cup fruit/vegetable credit since the orange juice concentrate theoretically could be reconstituted in a ratio of I part concentrate to 3 parts water (I tbsp concentrate + 3 Tbsp water = 4 Tbsp or 1/4 cup credit). The amount of credit that a product may contribute to the meal pattern requirements cannot be greater than the serving size of the product. For example, a 2.2 fluid ounce (1/4 cup) gelatin product with concentrate may not credit for more than 2.2 fluid ounces or 1/4 cup of fruit and/or fruit juice.

It is expected that program administrators will use good menu planning principles in planning menus which use juices or juice drinks. For example, a School Food Service Director may choose to serve a full-strength juice rather than a juice drink to keep the level of liquids in the meal at a reasonable level.