98% of all juices are pasteurized or subjected to equivalent “kill steps,” making them safe for consumption – just like pasteurized milk.
2% of all juices are not pasteurized and are not safe from contamination by disease-causing organisms like E. coli O150:H7, Salmonella spp. and Crytosporidium parvum.
98% of juices – over 2 billion gallons – pose no health risk to consumers because they are heat treated.
2% of juices – about 38 million gallons, or more than 600 million servings – are responsible for an estimated 6,000 – 6,200 illnesses per year because they are not pasteurized.
Although FDA’s proposed labeling requirement for unpasteurized juices is finalized and enforced, 84% – 95% of these 6,000 + attacks will continue to occur annually (FDA estimates a 5 – 16% reduction with a mandated warning statement).
Since pasteurized juices are not responsible for any illnesses in a given year, mandating the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program for processors of pasteurized juices will not affect public safety in any way.
Of the 900 juice processors in FDA’s Official Establishment Inventory, all but a very few utilize pasteurization, so a substantial number of companies and their employees may face tough times as they struggle to meet HACCP’s burdens.
The FDA estimates the annual economic savings of requiring unpasteurized juices to be pasteurized at $174 – $251 million – and no illnesses.
The FDA estimates the savings of labeling unpasteurized juices at $1 million to $6 million – with little change in the number of illnesses.
Under FDA’s proposal, all restaurants, juice bars, and other retail processors selling juice on-site for immediate consumption will be exempt from the labeling and HACCP requirements. This accounts for over 15% of unpasteurized juices and over 4,000 establishments.
