How do juice, nectar, and beverage differ from one another?
Max Müller
2026-03-24
4 min. read
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We often wonder what precisely sets juice apart from a beverage. To supply the body with the most valuable nutrients, it is essential to understand the distinctions between these types of drinks, their composition, and their calorie and vitamin content.
Juice and nectar
EU law explicitly states that a juice is a fermentable beverage, but not a fermented (very important) drink, produced from fresh or preserved fruits or vegetables with a flavor and aroma that is natural. It is permissible to enrich the juice with vitamins, minerals, citric acid, natural herbs and spices and add sugar up to 15 g/l of juice. However, the content of the juice must be between 85% and 100% of the fruit or vegetable flavor. Most juice is made from concentrated fruit juice from grains of vegetable juices or from fermented fruit juices to anything else.
Juice and a drink
It is true that beverage producers, in order to reduce costs, often produce beverages with 35% fruit juices, so the proportion of the drink base is small and at the same time much lower than that of nectars. Beverages containing 20% juices are also present. Artificial additives: flavourings, natural and artificial colours, artificial sweeteners and preservatives are allowed in this group.
Juice, nectar and a drink of calories and vitamins
Of course, what is known is that juices from freshly squeezed fruits and vegetables are most beneficial. They contain a lot of fiber and vitamins and minerals. Taste values are also not insignificant. Juices made from concentrates are not additionally sweet (the addition of natural sweeteners does not exceed 15g/l of juice), which does not increase their caloric content, and may contain additional minerals and vitamines.
