Festivalgoers who want 100% orange juice
If fruit content is the reason you are buying orange juice, choose a measured serving rather than an orange-flavoured drink. Plan how to keep a chilled bottle refrigerated until you use it.
Who is each option for?
Shoppers comparing sugars on the label
An orange juice drink or diluted squash may suit you if you are comfortable with a different fruit content and ingredients such as sweeteners. Compare the nutrition figures for the drink as served; “no added sugar” does not mean that it contains no sugar.
People planning drinks without reliable refrigeration
Check storage instructions before packing drinks for a festival. If you choose squash, you will also need water and the pack’s dilution directions.
What should you check before buying?
100% orange juice
Choose it when: You want a measured serving of orange juice made from fruit.
Bear in mind: No added sugar does not remove fruit’s naturally occurring sugars, and the cited chilled juices require refrigeration.
Orange juice drink
Choose it when: An orange-flavoured drink with a lower listed sugar figure than the cited pure-juice examples matters more to you than 100% juice.
Bear in mind: The cited Stamford Street Co. drink contains sweetener and is not pure orange juice.
Orange squash
Choose it when: You want to prepare an orange-flavoured drink with water and compare sugars in the diluted serving.
Bear in mind: Squash is not a serving of 100% orange juice; check its ingredients and dilution directions.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Juice serving | Check whether the drink is 100% juice. The NHS advises a maximum of 150ml of fruit juice and smoothies combined per day, taken with a meal. | I want a measured serving of actual orange juice with food, not an orange-flavoured alternative. |
| Sugars and ingredients | Read “of which sugars” and the serving size, including the prepared serving for squash. Sainsbury’s lists 6.7g sugars per 150ml for its Stamford Street Co. orange juice drink and less than 0.5g per prepared 250ml for its Fruit and Barley Orange squash; these are different serving sizes and formulations. | A lower listed sugar figure matters more to me than buying 100% juice, and I am willing to check fruit content and sweeteners. |
| Festival storage | Check the unopened and opened-pack instructions. Tesco lists 0–8°C storage and use within four days of opening for innocent Smooth Orange Juice; squash also needs water for dilution. | I need a drink I can store and prepare using the refrigeration and water available at the festival. |
| Allergens | Check the exact pack’s ingredient and allergen declaration. The cited Sainsbury’s Fruit and Barley Orange squash lists barley extract and sulphites. | If ingredients matter for the people I am buying for, I need to check the particular product rather than assume all orange drinks are alike. |
What is easy to overlook?
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Reading “no added sugar” as “no sugar”
Orange juice can contain naturally occurring sugars without added sugar. Sainsbury’s lists 8.6g sugars per 100ml for the cited Tropicana Pure Smooth Orange juice.
Read the claim alongside the “of which sugars” figure, and compare drinks on a consistent prepared-volume basis.
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Treating juice as an all-day festival drink
The NHS advises limiting fruit juice and smoothies together to 150ml a day and having them with a meal.
Bring water for drinking throughout the day. If you choose juice with food, measure the serving rather than treating a whole bottle as one portion.
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Taking chilled juice without a storage plan
The cited innocent Smooth Orange Juice requires refrigeration at 0–8°C, according to Tesco, and should be used within four days of opening.
Check the particular pack’s instructions against the cooling you will have before and during the festival.
An opened bottle may go to waste if you cannot store and use it as its label directs.
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Counting squash as pure orange juice
Sainsbury’s Fruit and Barley Orange squash contains 10% fruit ingredients and is prepared with water. Its nutrition figure describes the diluted drink, not a serving of 100% juice.
Choose it as an orange-flavoured alternative, and follow the stated dilution directions when comparing servings.
Brand and retailer examples
These product examples show why the name “orange drink” is not enough to establish fruit content, sugars or storage requirements.
Tropicana
The cited Pure Smooth Orange 300ml bottle is a chilled, not-from-concentrate 100% orange juice, according to Sainsbury’s.
- Sainsbury’s lists orange juice with no added sugar.
- It still lists 8.6g sugars per 100ml and must be refrigerated.
innocent
Tesco describes the cited Smooth Orange Juice as 100% orange juice.
- It suits a choice based on 100% orange juice rather than an orange juice drink or squash.
- Tesco specifies refrigeration at 0–8°C and use within four days of opening.
Sainsbury’s
The cited own-label examples cover an orange juice drink and a Fruit and Barley Orange squash, rather than two interchangeable pure juices.
- Sainsbury’s lists 6.7g sugars per 150ml for its Stamford Street Co. juice drink and less than 0.5g per prepared 250ml for its diluted Fruit and Barley Orange squash.
- The squash contains 10% fruit ingredients and needs dilution; check its ingredients, including barley and sulphites, on the pack.
Joybuy orange drink options
These options are an orange squash to dilute and individual orange juice drinks for festival food; neither is 100% orange juice.
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Robinsons No Added Sugar Orange Squash 1L
This is an orange-flavoured squash to dilute with water, not 100% orange juice. Follow the pack’s dilution directions; the product information identifies sweeteners and sulphites and states that it is not suitable for children under 36 months.
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Fruitshoot Orange Low Sugar 8 x 200 ml
The eight individual bottles offer an orange juice drink rather than 100% orange juice. The product information lists sweeteners; check the pack’s unopened-storage instructions before taking it to a festival. The product is not suitable for children under 36 months because the caps present a choking risk.
Questions about festival drinks
Does “no added sugar” orange juice contain no sugar?
No. Orange juice can contain naturally occurring fruit sugars without added sugar. For example, Sainsbury’s lists 8.6g sugars per 100ml for the cited Tropicana Pure Smooth Orange juice. Check the nutrition panel rather than relying on the claim alone.
How much fruit juice does the NHS advise drinking?
The NHS advises limiting fruit juice and smoothies together to one small glass, 150ml, a day and having them with a meal. Bring water separately for drinking throughout the festival.
What if I cannot refrigerate orange juice at the festival?
Do not leave a juice that requires chilling unrefrigerated. Tesco specifies 0–8°C storage for the cited innocent Smooth Orange Juice, while Sainsbury’s says the cited Tropicana juice must be refrigerated. For another drink, check its own unopened- and opened-pack instructions before relying on it.
Do orange squashes have ingredients I should check?
Yes. The cited Sainsbury’s Fruit and Barley Orange squash lists barley extract and sulphites. Read the exact pack’s ingredient and allergen declaration, particularly when buying for someone who needs to avoid an ingredient; recipes can change.