WHAT THE LABEL MEANS

Read the carton,
not the picture.

Every orange carton shows a fresh orange.

A small glass of orange juice on a wooden breakfast table in morning light, with halved oranges beside it — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Juice means only fruit
Nectar can add sugar
One small glass, with a meal
Three words worth reading

The words underneath are what tell them apart. UK fruit juice rules set out what juice, juice from concentrate and nectar must be, and NHS guidance says how much of a glass counts.

Updated 16 October 2026

THE SHORT ANSWER

Juice is fruit.
Nectar is fruit plus.

The name on the pack is a legal description.
It tells you what can and cannot be added.

JUICE

Only the fruit

Fruit juice is the juice of sound, ripe fruit. The rules list what may be added, and sugar is not on the list for juice.

Check a carton

CONCENTRATE

Water out, water back

Juice from concentrate has had water removed and then put back. Reconstituted orange juice must reach a minimum sweetness level, 11.2 Brix.

See the numbers

HOW MUCH

One small glass

The NHS says to keep juice and smoothies to 150ml a day in total, at mealtimes, because juicing releases sugars that can harm teeth.

Habits to try

General information only, not medical advice. For advice about your own health, speak to a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified health professional.

A QUICK CARTON CHECK

What does the
carton say?

Pick the words printed on the pack to see what the UK rules allow inside. The bar shows how far the product can move away from plain squeezed fruit.

Based on the fruit juice rules in Directive 2001/112/EC as amended by Directive 2012/12/EU, applied in England by the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013. General information, not dietary advice.

Carton check

Choose the labelOrange juice (not from concentrate)Orange juice from concentrateOrange nectarNo added sugar nectarOrange juice drink

Orange juice (not from concentrate)Just fruit

Juice from the edible part of sound, ripe oranges. For citrus, it must come from the inside of the fruit, and its natural sweetness may not be changed except by blending with more orange juice.

Orange juice from concentrateWater put back

Concentrated juice made back up with drinking water. Reconstituted orange juice must reach at least 11.2 Brix, a measure of its dissolved solids such as sugars.

Orange nectarAt least 50% juice

Juice or purée with water added. For citrus fruit other than lemons and limes, at least 50% must be juice or purée, and sugars or honey may make up to 20% of the weight.

No added sugar nectarNo added sweetening

This claim is only allowed if no sugars or sweeteners at all were added. If the fruit has its own sugars, the label should also say "contains naturally occurring sugars".

Orange juice drinkNot juice

Not one of the reserved juice names. NHS guidance says "fruit" or "juice" drinks contain sugar and are not suitable for young babies.

Sources: Directive 2001/112/EC Annexes I, IV and V as substituted by Directive 2012/12/EU (legislation.gov.uk); NHS, Drinks and cups for babies and young children.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

A small glass,
and a half-juice rule.

One figure from NHS guidance,
one from the fruit juice rules.

150ml

Juice and smoothies a day, combined

The NHS says 150ml of fruit juice, vegetable juice or smoothie counts as one of your 5 A Day, and only once, however much you drink. It advises keeping the combined total to 150ml a day.

HOW MUCH · NHS

50%

Minimum juice in a citrus nectar

A nectar made from citrus fruits other than lemons and limes must contain at least 50% juice or purée by volume. Sugars and/or honey may make up to 20% of its total weight.

NECTAR · FRUIT JUICE RULES

The NHS counts the sugars in unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies as free sugars, and says adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day.

Several plain unlabelled juice cartons and a glass jug of orange juice on a kitchen counter — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR HABITS TO TRY

Enjoy the glass,
keep it small.

None of this means giving up orange juice. It is about reading the words on the pack and drinking it the way NHS guidance suggests.

Look below the picture
Find the product name: juice, juice from concentrate, nectar or juice drink. That word says what may be added.
Pour about 150ml
That is one small glass, and it counts as one of your 5 A Day only once, however much you drink.
Have it with a meal
The NHS advises juice at mealtimes rather than between meals, to reduce the risk of tooth decay.
Eat the orange too
Sugars in whole fruit are not free sugars. They only count as free sugars once the fruit is juiced or puréed.

VITAMIN C AND SUGAR

Good for vitamin C,
still sugary.

The NHS lists oranges and orange juice among good sources of vitamin C. Adults aged 19 to 64 need 40mg a day, and because the body cannot store it, it has to come from the diet every day.

The same guidance counts the sugars in unsweetened fruit juice as free sugars, the kind most people in the UK eat too much of. That is why the advice is one small glass a day, not none.

Hands squeezing half an orange on a glass citrus juicer, juice collecting in the dish below — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Questions

Questions people ask

Is juice from concentrate worse than not from concentrate?

The rules treat both as fruit juice. Concentrate has water removed and then restored with drinking water, and reconstituted orange juice must reach a minimum of 11.2 Brix. Neither may have sugar added.

What is the difference between orange juice and orange nectar?

Nectar is juice or purée with water added, and it may contain added sugars or honey up to 20% of its weight. For oranges and most citrus, at least 50% of a nectar must be juice or purée.

Can orange juice have added sugar?

Under the fruit juice rules, sugar is not among the ingredients that may be added to fruit juice. Vitamins, minerals, permitted additives and restored flavour, pulp and cells are.

How much orange juice counts as one of my 5 A Day?

The NHS says 150ml of fruit juice, vegetable juice or smoothie counts as one portion, and only once a day. It advises a combined total of no more than 150ml a day.

Should young children drink orange juice?

The NHS says babies under 12 months do not need fruit juice. If given, it should be diluted one part juice to 10 parts water and kept to mealtimes. From 5, undiluted juice is fine, up to about 150ml a day with meals.

Read the carton,
not the picture.