Is freshly squeezed orange juice really better for you?

According to a recent study, shop bought orange juice contains same levels of bioactive compounds as freshly squeezed.

In fact, the research, published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, claims that shop bought orange juice delivers more than 90 percent of our vitamin C in one glass.

In recent years, some consumers have raised concerns that the manufacturing process destroys the nutritional value of shop bought 100 percent orange juice. However now, researchers from universities in Spain and Italy have found levels of polyphenols – valuable bioactive compounds linked to health – are “similar” in home-squeezed and shop-bought juice.

To carry out the study, researchers compared popular shop bought orange juices in the UK, Germany, France and Spain against freshly squeezed ‘Navelina’ oranges. It found that while home squeezed juice contains more vitamin C than shop-bought equivalents, it “degrades significantly over time and is expected to reach shop bought juice levels after a week”.

In addition, the study found that shop bought orange juice contains 94 percent of European recommendations for daily vitamin C intake.

How important is nutrition while at university?

Commenting on the results of the study, Dr Cristina Viguera from the Department of Food Science and Technology at CEBAS-CSIC and Lead Scientist in the study, explained: “Our research indicates that there’s limited nutritional advantage to spending time home squeezing oranges when you can obtain similar levels of polyphenols and most of the vitamin C you need from a good quality shop bought version.

“We also found that shop bought orange juices preserve their bioactive compounds during storage and the brand, country or manufacturing process made little difference to the polyphenols or vitamin C. Overall, orange juice is still a rich source of vitamin C whether it’s freshly squeezed or purchased,” concluded Viguera.