Canteen teams serving individual drinks
Sealed cans make it possible to hand out one drink at lunch. Keep the current packaging information available to staff when serving them.
Who is choosing the drinks?
Workplaces looking for a 150ml juice serving
ASDA lists Appletiser’s 150ml can as 100% carbonated apple juice from concentrate. Its volume matches the NHS guidance to limit fruit juice and smoothies to a combined 150ml a day.
Buyers weighing sugar figures against juice content
Cawston Press lists 4.3g sugars per 100ml for Sparkling Cloudy Apple, compared with 10.5g per 100ml on ASDA’s Appletiser 6 × 250ml listing. Cawston’s drink contains 49% pressed apple juice, so it does not meet a 100% juice specification.
What should a canteen check?
Set the serving volume and juice-content requirement before comparing drinks; then check the current pack information needed for service.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Serving volume | Compare the volume of each can with the intended lunch serving. The NHS advises limiting fruit juice and smoothies to a combined 150ml a day; a 250ml juice can is larger than that amount. | I want to know whether one can is intended as a 150ml juice-sized serving or a larger individual drink. |
| Juice content | Read the ingredients and juice percentage. ASDA lists the reviewed Appletiser cans as 100% carbonated apple juice from concentrate; Cawston Press lists 49% pressed apple juice in Sparkling Cloudy Apple. | If the canteen specifies 100% apple juice, an apple-flavoured sparkling drink with a lower juice percentage will not meet that requirement. |
| Listed sugars | Compare the same measure: ASDA lists 10.5g sugars per 100ml and 26g per 250ml can for the Appletiser multipack; Cawston Press lists 4.3g per 100ml for Sparkling Cloudy Apple. Check juice content alongside those figures. | A lower per-100ml sugar figure matters to me, but I also need to know whether the drink is 100% juice. |
| Service information | Keep the current pack label or supplier specification accessible. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Food Standards Agency guidance says retail and catering food businesses must provide allergen information for prepacked and non-prepacked food and drink. | Staff need current ingredient and allergen information when handing out drinks, particularly if a delivered pack differs from an earlier listing. |
Common buying mistakes
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Treating 250ml as a 150ml juice serving
A 250ml Appletiser can is larger than the NHS guidance to limit fruit juice and smoothies to a combined 150ml a day.
If the lunch offer is intended to be a 150ml juice-sized serving, choose that can size rather than treating the larger can as equivalent.
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Choosing by an apple-flavoured name alone
The reviewed products have different juice contents: ASDA lists Appletiser as 100% apple juice from concentrate, Cawston Press lists 49% pressed apple juice, and Marks & Spencer lists 16% apple juice from concentrate in its Sparkling British Apple Spring Water.
Put the required juice percentage in the purchasing brief and check the current ingredients panel against it.
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Using an online listing as the service label
Staff need information that corresponds to the drinks actually being served. Food Standards Agency guidance requires relevant retail and catering businesses to provide allergen information for prepacked and non-prepacked drinks.
Keep the current packaging or supplier specification accessible and review it when deliveries change.
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Applying an old recall to every pack
ASDA’s 30 January 2025 Appletiser recall notice concerned 6 × 250ml packs with specified best-before dates in 2025; it does not establish that every pack is affected.
Check the dates and batch codes on delivered stock against current official and supplier recall notices.
Relevant product lines
These examples show why the drink type and juice percentage matter; a brand name alone does not define the contents of every product it sells.
Appletiser
The reviewed 150ml can and 6 × 250ml multipack are listed by ASDA as sparkling drinks made from 100% carbonated apple juice from concentrate.
- The 150ml can matches the volume in the NHS daily guidance for fruit juice and smoothies.
- Each 250ml can exceeds that volume; ASDA lists 26g sugars per can for the multipack.
Cawston Press
Sparkling Cloudy Apple is a sparkling drink made with pressed apple juice and sparkling water.
- Cawston Press lists 4.3g sugars per 100ml, compared with the 10.5g per 100ml ASDA lists for the reviewed Appletiser multipack.
- Its listed juice content is 49%, so it is not a substitute for a 100% apple-juice requirement.
M&S
Sparkling British Apple Spring Water is an apple-flavoured sparkling water rather than a 100% sparkling apple juice.
- It is a distinct option when the brief calls for an apple-flavoured sparkling drink rather than juice.
- Marks & Spencer lists 16% apple juice from concentrate, alongside sugar, acids and flavourings.
Sparkling apple juice on Joybuy
This 6 × 250ml option suits a canteen seeking individual cans of 100% sparkling apple juice. Each can is larger than the 150ml volume in the NHS daily guidance for fruit juice and smoothies.
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Appletiser 100% Apple Juice Lightly Sparkling 6 × 250ml
The six individual 250ml cans provide a multipack format for lunch service. The listed ingredients are 100% carbonated apple juice from concentrate; ASDA lists 10.5g sugars per 100ml and 26g per 250ml can for this format. Check the current pack for ingredient and allergen information before service.
Frequently asked questions
Should a canteen choose 150ml or 250ml sparkling apple juice?
Choose a 150ml can if the intention is a juice-sized lunch serving matching the NHS guidance to limit fruit juice and smoothies to a combined 150ml a day. A 250ml can is still an individual drink, but one can exceeds that volume.
Is every sparkling apple drink 100% apple juice?
No. ASDA lists the reviewed Appletiser cans as 100% carbonated apple juice from concentrate, while Cawston Press lists 49% pressed apple juice in Sparkling Cloudy Apple. Marks & Spencer lists 16% apple juice from concentrate in Sparkling British Apple Spring Water. Check the current ingredients when juice content is part of the purchasing brief.
What allergen information does a canteen need for drinks?
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Food Standards Agency guidance says retail and catering food businesses must provide allergen information for both prepacked and non-prepacked food and drink. Keep information for the current delivered product available to the staff serving it.
How should canteen staff check storage instructions?
Follow the instructions for the exact pack being served, including any directions that apply after opening. Instructions for a larger bottle should not be assumed to apply to an individual can.
Does the 2025 Appletiser recall apply to every multipack?
No. ASDA’s notice dated 30 January 2025 identified Appletiser 6 × 250ml packs with particular 2025 best-before dates. Check the dates and batch codes on stock against current official and supplier notices rather than applying that historical notice to every pack.