Take ready-to-drink 100% orange juice if you can keep it refrigerated throughout the trip. If reliable cooling is difficult, a no-added-sugar orange squash or high-juice concentrate may be more practical, provided you have drinking water for dilution and check its sweeteners, allergens and storage instructions. Neither format is necessarily sugar-free.
The deciding factor is whether you can keep a chilled bottle cold or would rather prepare a drink with water at camp.
An orange squash or high-juice concentrate can be stored according to its unopened-pack instructions and diluted at camp. Check what the label says to do after opening, and make sure you have enough drinking water.
Chilled juice needs no dilution, but you must be able to meet its refrigerated storage instructions during travel and at camp. Its no-added-sugar claim does not mean it contains no sugars.
Read the current ingredients and allergen statement for each bottle. The orange squash and high-juice examples discussed here include sweeteners, and several list sulphites.
Start with storage and water access; then compare the prepared drink, rather than treating juice and undiluted concentrate as equivalent.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Check the unopened and opened-bottle instructions, the labelled chilled temperature where relevant, and how you will monitor a cooler. The Food Standards Agency advises keeping chilled food below 5°C. | I cannot count on a fridge at camp, so I need a drink I can store as directed for the whole trip. |
| Water and dilution | Read the ratio on the bottle and work out the drinking water needed. The cited Tesco and ASDA high juices use one part concentrate to four parts water; the cited ASDA Orange Squash uses one part to nine parts water. | Carrying less concentrate helps only if I can also carry or obtain enough drinking water. |
| Sugars and sweeteners | Check both the ingredients and sugars per 100ml. For concentrates, compare nutrition information for the drink as prepared, using the stated dilution. | I want to know whether the bottle is 100% juice or a drink made with sweeteners, not rely on the no-added-sugar wording alone. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current allergen statement and ingredient list for sulphites, barley and any sweeteners that matter to your group. | Someone sharing the drinks may need to avoid an ingredient, so I will check each bottle before packing it. |
100% orange juice still contains naturally occurring sugars, while no-added-sugar squash may contain sweeteners.
Read the ingredients and the sugars figure on the nutrition panel to see what the claim means for the drink you are buying.
The cited Tropicana and Innocent juices require refrigeration. The Food Standards Agency cautions that a cool box is unlikely to keep food chilled for an extended period.
Check the bottle’s storage temperature and whether your cooler, ice packs and temperature checks can meet it throughout the trip. Otherwise, consider a drink with suitable unopened storage instructions.
A smaller amount of concentrate still needs the labelled quantity of drinking water before serving.
Calculate the prepared volume from the bottle’s dilution directions and include that water in your campsite plan.
The cited squash and high-juice products differ from 100% juice: they include sweeteners, several list sulphites, and the cited Sainsbury’s Fruit & Barley product contains barley extract.
Check each current pack’s ingredients and allergen statement, particularly when buying for a group.
These examples illustrate different orange-drink formats; the details apply to the named products, not every drink from each brand.
The cited 300ml Smooth Orange Juice is a ready-to-drink, 100% orange juice made from pressed fruit.
The cited 900ml Smooth Orange Juice is a larger, ready-to-drink 100% juice bottle.
The cited 1L No Added Sugar High Juice Orange is a concentrate containing 50% orange juice from concentrate.
The cited 1L Fruit & Barley Orange No Added Sugar is a squash with 10% fruit from concentrate.
The cited range includes a 50% fruit high juice and a more dilute Orange Squash.
M&S describes its Mediterranean Orange High Juice as containing 50% fruit juice with no added sugar.
This orange squash is an option if you plan to prepare drinks with water at camp rather than take ready-to-drink 100% orange juice.
Image unavailable
This squash needs water for dilution, so check that your campsite water supply suits your plans. The supplied product description specifies 10% orange fruit from concentrate, cool, dark, dry storage before opening and refrigeration after opening. It lists acesulfame K, sucralose and sulphites; check the current pack for its dilution directions, storage instructions and ingredients.
No. Ready-to-drink 100% orange juice contains naturally occurring sugars even when no sugar has been added. Check the nutrition panel for total sugars and the ingredients list for sweeteners in squash or high juice.
Yes, if you can follow the bottle’s refrigerated storage instructions throughout the trip. The Food Standards Agency advises keeping chilled food below 5°C and cautions that a cool box is unlikely to keep it chilled for an extended period, so check the temperature rather than assuming ice packs will last.
It can replace juice as an orange-flavoured drink when you have drinking water for dilution, but it is not the same as ready-to-drink 100% orange juice. Check the particular squash’s fruit content, ingredients, dilution ratio and storage directions.
Check the current pack’s allergen statement and ingredients before serving the drink. Several of the cited orange concentrates list sulphites, so a no-added-sugar claim alone cannot answer that question.