In the 1970s and 80s we thought of fruit juice as a healthy alternative to soft drinks. But, in the decades since, we learned that – shocker – many of these juices contained almost as much sugar as soft drinks.

Then came the advent of vegetable juices, which grew in popularity as a healthier alternative.

Now we find ourselves with an ever-growing range of green juices to choose from. In a recent supermarket spot check we found 13 juices that use the word green in the label.

Both drinks contain only fruit juices and rely solely on added colourings to earn their 'green' label

While you might assume these are made largely from vegetables, most of these products are made primarily from fruit juice. And the majority of them derive at least part of their green colour from additives, not vegetables.

Among these products, Daily Juice Co stood out. Their 'green' juices contain no vegetables at all.

That's why they've earned a Shonky Award for their 'Daily Juice Green Mix' and 'Daily Juice Green Juice Blend with Folate'. Both drinks contain only fruit juices and rely solely on added colourings to earn their 'green' label.

What does 'green' mean?

Green is one of those words that mean different things to different people, but one thing is certain: it does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to marketing. Not only is it associated with environmentally friendly products, but when it comes to foods and drinks, consumers perceive products described as green as being fresh, natural and indicative of health and wellbeing.

We asked 90 CHOICE audience members* what statements they would expect to be true about 'green' juice. Three-quarters (74%) say they'd expect 'green' juice to be healthy, and 98% say they'd expect to find vegetable juice in the ingredients.

We asked them how they would feel if they bought a green juice, only to find that the only green ingredient was food colouring. Most expressed anger, telling us they'd feel "Ripped off", "Deceived", "Annoyed", "Misled" and "Lied to".

When I realised the only 'green' ingredient was the food colouring I felt very ripped off

Jane, Daily Juice Co customer

That's certainly how one Daily Juice Co customer felt when she bought the Green Mix product. 

"I bought this juice thinking maybe I could get some leafy green vitamins into my kids," Jane tells us. "When I realised the only 'green' ingredient was the food colouring I felt very ripped off."

Accredited practising dietitian Alice Bleathman agrees that most shoppers wouldn't expect their green juice to be fruit juice that's been coloured green.

"Many shoppers expect green juices to contain a significant amount of vegetable juice, given the association of the colour green with vegetables," she says. "If a large percentage of the juice is made from fruit juices rather than vegetables, it doesn't align with these expectations."

She says consumers should take careful note of the ingredients when shopping for these products.

Bleathman's advice is to look for 100% fruit or vegetable juice, made from real fruits or vegetables without added fillers like sugars or colours

"In Australia, there is no formal, specific definition of 'green juice' in regulatory terms. This means it is really important to have an informed understanding of what you're consuming when it comes to 'green juice'," she says.

Bleathman's advice is to look for 100% fruit or vegetable juice, made from real fruits or vegetables without added fillers like sugars or colours.

CHOICE editorial consultant Marg Rafferty compares juice made with the same ingredients without food colouring added (left), and with food colouring added (right).

Added colours

The most common colouring in the green juices we looked at was colour E141, also known as chlorophyllin-copper complex. It was listed as an ingredient in six of the 13 juices, including the two Daily Juice green juices, with a seventh product simply listing "natural colouring" without specifying exactly what that might be.

Bleathman suggests shoppers looking for minimally processed or completely natural products might prefer juices without added colourants such as E141.

"While derived from chlorophyll, it undergoes processing and may not be considered 'natural' by all consumers."

Other juices we looked at contained spirulina, chlorella and/or chlorophyll in tiny quantities, which may be another way of adding a green colour.

Again, Bleathman urges caution, suggesting that while these ingredients can enhance perceived health benefits, they probably don't make a big difference to the overall nutritional quality of these juices.

"While they contribute to the green colour and may be marketed as healthful, their levels in these products are usually minimal and may not offer significant nutritional benefits," she says.

Daily Juice Co 'green' juices

Daily Juice Co has two 'green' juices in its range: Green Juice Blend with Folate and Green Mix. As our survey showed, most shoppers would expect these products to contain vegetable juice, and most would think that their green colour was derived at least in part from vegetables. Sadly, neither is true for these products.

While nearly all the juices we looked at contained some sort of colouring, only these two contained no vegetables or naturally green ingredients, relying solely on added colouring to earn their green label.

Green Blend with Folate

Ingredients: Fruit Juice [Apple (31.4%), Orange (20%), Lime (1%)], Reconstituted Juice [Pineapple (30%), Passionfruit (2.5%)], Mango Paste (15%), Preservative (202), Vitamin C, Colour (141), Folate.

Green Mix

Ingredients: Apple Juice and Reconstituted Apple Juice (43.4%), Reconstituted Fruit Juices [Orange (20%), Pineapple (20%), Passionfruit (2.5%)], Reconstituted Mango Puree (13%), Lime Juice (1%), Preservative (202), Vitamin C, Colour (141).

Daily Juice Co: 'No comment'

We asked Daily Juice Co, part of the Bega Group, to tell us what benefits consumers get from its green juices and how these might differ from those derived from other juices in the range. We also asked who these products were targeted at and what gap in the market they fill. The company declined to comment.

We made our own version of the Daily Juice Co product using colour E141 to magically turn the juice from orange to green.

A juicy experiment

We had a feeling that the Daily Juice Co Green Mix was only green because of the added food colouring, but we wanted to be sure.

So CHOICE writer Marg Rafferty decided to do a little experiment. She bought every single item on the Green Mix ingredients list and mixed her own version. She even conducted a taste test to make sure she'd got the mixture right. The result?

"Our homemade juice looked more like an orange juice or a pineapple juice. There was nothing green about it," says Rafferty. 

"Afterwards I stirred in a little pre-bought colour (141) and – surprise, surprise – the juice turned green, and looked almost exactly the same as the store-bought version."

In short, without the food colouring, there's nothing green about this juice whatsoever. And that's just shonky.

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