Eg. product name, manufacturer, dealer, ...

MENU Close

• Entrepreneurs
• Business information
• Certification
• CAFIA laboratories
• CAFIA opinions
• More information
• Consumers
• How to know the food market
• Results of CAFIA inspections
• Consumer rights
• List of risky sites
• Hoaxes
• Other visitors
• Press Releases
• Internships at CAFIA
• Public contracts

The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) has again checked the quality and labelling of fruit juices, nectars and beverages because the range of non-alcoholic beverages on the Czech market was significantly widened after accession of the Czech Republic to the EU. This time, the CAFIA focused mainly on cheap foreign products and some so called “private labels of commercial chains”.

The inspectors took 21 samples of domestic and foreign products that were analysed for actual fruit content. According to the analysis results, fruit content of two samples was not as declared on the label.

The results of labelling inspection were slightly worse: 5 samples out of 27 were incorrectly labelled. In the majority of cases, information about percentage content of the ingredient highlighted on the packaging, either in words or in a picture, was missing, one beverage was labelled as “natural”, even though it is not permitted.

The inspection results showed that all checked cheap products and private label products sold in commercial chains comply with the relevant regulations.

It is certainly interesting for consumers that relevant decree states precisely what percentage fruit content non-alcoholic beverage must have so that it can be labelled in a particular way. For instance, with the word “džus” or “juice” and also “100%” or “stoprocentní” may only be labelled fruit or vegetables juices with no added water and that therefore contain solely fruit or vegetable juice from one or more kinds of fruit or vegetables.

If a non-alcoholic beverage is labelled with the word “nectar” it must then have at least
25 – 50% of fruit content, according to the fruit used. For example, citron nectar must contain at least 25% of citron juice, whereas, for example orange, pear or peach nectar 50% of juice of relevant fruit.

Another category is “fruit beverages” whose fruit content is usually lower than in the case of fruit juices and nectars. The commodity decree does not determine a particular amount of fruit juice the fruit beverage must contain, but it lays down the obligation for producers to state information about percentage weight proportion of fruit or vegetable content on the packaging.