Tropicana Juice Case Study

Which Is the Best

Was orange juice always just here? What is the difference between the different types? Why does everyone like it cold? Is it a sustainable product the way Tropicana is running their processing plant? Are there ethical issues with orange juice production?I began to wonder one day as I was looking in the store, in the orange juice aisle. This paper is a journey into orange juice through the popular Orange juice company, Tropicana .I chose this company because this was a juice that I had grown up with .I hope to be able to answer there questions for myself and you ,the reader.

To start orange juice was not always here. It came out of an advertising campaign in the 1920’s. (1)The California Fruit Growers (now known as Sunkist) had been producing too many oranges for the current market. Their supply and demand ratio was off. They needed to find a new use for oranges besides just peeling and consuming them .There was too many oranges being wasted. Orange juice takes three to four oranges for each cup of juice. It was an effective means to use extra oranges.(2)

Through advertising, Sunkist convinced the general public they should drink at least one cup a day. It was called the” Drink an orange campaign.” The benefits of drinking orange , like today, focused on improving one’s health.

Orange juice has a lot of benefits for the body.(3) It contains vitamin c, which is an antioxidant, helps to boost the absorption of iron when combined with foods and is a great tasting away to combat the common cold. There is Folate that helps with DNA formation and helps to lower homocysteine, the chemical associated with heart disease and memory impairment. There is research being done on phytonutrients that are also present in orange juice. They are naturally occurring chemicals such as beta-carotene which is what gives orange juice it’s color. They are considered antioxidants, like vitamin c.There is still research being done on the ones in orange juice and what a required daily requirement should be. Potassium ,another nutrient in orange juice, helps with the fluid - electrolyte balance in cells. The juice contains thiamin and niacin, which helps to convert food to a form of energy the body can use. Vitamin B6 is present and helps in the formation of hemoglobin, the part of the red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. Some orange juices contain calcium, which protects the bones.The consumer just needs to make sure the juice has vitamin D, to help the body absorb calcium. Now that you know that how good it is for you, let me share how it is made.

The type of juice I looked at was the prepared gallon size container of Tropicana Juice.(4)It is more expensive than frozen concentrate. You can actually ship six times the amount of frozen juice concentrate for each gallon container of prepared juice.

It comes two ways, From Concentrate and Not From Concentrate. For the gallon from concentrate the company extracts the fluid during the processing and creates a concentrated form of orange juice paste. To the concentrated form they add plain water, and the oil extracted during processing to stabilize it. One needs to consider the quality of the water that is added. Florida where Tropicana plant is located is having problems with keeping up their water quality. For the Not From Concentrate juice, they do not extract the fluid or add back in the oil. The company just extracts the juice and it is the more expensive of the two. The prepared not from concentrate and from concentrate juices became popular in the 1990’s after the Odwalla crisis.(5)(It is mentioned further in the paper in more detail.) I will go more into the processing as I introduce you the steps in orange juice making.

Tropicana uses several different varieties of oranges in the making of their orange juice.(6)Some varieties in particular that they use are Early Gold,Tabor,Ruby and Westin .Theses varieties came from overseas and were genetically modified, to fit the climate of Florida.This was done through a contract with the University of Florida.Oranges .In general,oranges grow on large trees, similar to apple trees. The proper term for where they are grown is called a grove.

The majority of oranges in Florida are hand picked.Tropicana does not own their own groves so they have contracts with pickers ,in the area.(7)I was not able to get any information on which groves Tropicana uses.

Tropicana contracts for Florida certified oranges for their juice.(8)To determine whether the oranges can be certified ,at the time of picking in the grove,a random sampling of oranges is picked and tested.The juice is squeezed.When tested the juice they are looking for the sugar and acid levels.When added together if the percentage falls within the accepted range, the oranges can be certified and picked for Tropicana.This level they test,also is what gives the juice it’s flavor.

Once the grove manager gets the O.k.saying they are ready for picking, he contracts out for help pick the fruit.(9) It is not a real sophisticated process.Pickers use canvas bags and ladders to pick the fruit.They are paid by the amount they pick each day.The oranges get dumped into bigger containers which eventually get dumped into tractors that deliver to the processing plant.

Tropicana focuses their efforts on the processing plant. They train their own inspectors to work in the plant.(10) The oranges are loaded on conveyors belts to start the process.(11) The skins of the oranges are washed and they are sent through the juice extractor.The byproduct of this process is large amount of waste water with organic matter-parts of the left over orange. The juice, at that point, has to be flash pasterized by law, because of the Odwalla e-coli and samonella outbreak, in 1996.(12)Were you were wondering why you can not buy fresh juices from the store anymore?.

The orange juice is also packaged in aseptic packaging to prevent spoilage in transportation.(13)The juice is refrigerated in the grocery store because the consumer thinks orange juice to be fresh, has to be cold.

Making orange juice appears to be a sustainable product right now.Tropicana is making money. They are able to pass extra costs in processing to the consumer. The gallon of prepared juice is more expensive than other brands but the consumer is buying it.

Orange juice is a consumer driven industry. Anytime a new diet craze takes over Tropicana is right there trying to match it with a product.(14) With the rush to Atkins, Tropicana created a low carbohydrate diet. With the South Beach Diet, came low sugar juice. As you read on please keep that in mind.The consumer