According to a report presented at the Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, more than 80% of all orange juice consumed in Europe comes from Brazil and the USA. This report is aimed to improve production standards and help consumers make healthier choices on fruit juices.

The EU has two thirds of worldwide exports which has at least one negative side-effect: the carbon footprint of all those oranges. In addition it is worth noting that Brazilian and US producers cultivate oranges especially for processing, whereas EU producers use fruit excluded from the fresh produce market for their small size or blemishes, but which are still perfectly good for transformation into high quality juice. The report seeks to strengthen the consumption of local products. The advantages are many, from a far lower carbon footprint to better oversight of the implementation of EU labour standards and food safety rules.

Among other proposals, the draft directive being debated in Parliament would allow EU producers to add up to 10 percent of tangerine juice to orange juice, which would intensify taste while adding health benefits.

The new directive should also pay attention to consider the EU general principles and requirements of food law, as well as tackling the problem of insufficient consumer information, making a clear distinction between 'juice' and 'nectar'. Specific groups of consumers, such as diabetics, children and people with weight problems have to know how much sugar a drink contains, which means if it contains nectar for instance, therefore MEPs suggest that information campaigns should be launched to better inform consumers on the difference between juices.