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A citrus comeback is budding in North Florida

Even when Brazilian orange supply is low; and number of plants in operation drops... We've got to stay positive and keep looking forward.

Author

Jan van Iperen
December 04, 2024

For Professionals in the Juice and Citrus industry

Do you know that feeling? You’re under water, but the good kind… an abundance of air to stay submerged, focused, swimming towards your goal.

That’s the water I’m in now… a bit overwhelming, yet tremendously inspiring and motivating, further stimulated by a team of great colleagues and an eco-system of people with an eager, ambitious, forward-thinking mindset.

I’m stoked for 2025… it’s going to be awesome!!

Ok, back to the news.

Not me… but I share his radiance.

🧃 Juice News

Brominated vegetable oil (BVO), once a common additive in citrus-flavored sodas, has finally met its demise in the American market. This decision aligns the United States with numerous other nations that have long since outlawed the substance. The FDA’s ruling comes after decades of debate and mounting scientific evidence regarding BVO’s potential health risks.

Perhaps it says something about our era that A-list celebrities have chosen to offer their names and cash in support of a pretty healthy assortment of drinks.

They’re not marketing alcoholic beverages, or even stuff that’s high in sugar and calories. In fact, two of them — Liquid Death and ZenWTR — are best known for plain water.

Others are on the nonalcoholic beverage bandwagon. The best-known name here is nonalcoholic craft beer maker Athletic Brewing, which has raised the most venture funding of any company on our list.

Just Made was founded in 2016 with the goal of bringing the vibrant flavors and nutritional benefits of tropical fruits to consumers across the United States. The company's portfolio of cold-pressed juices, shots and smoothie bowls are available in over 3,000 retail locations across more than 25 states. As a certified B-Corporation, they believe in using business as a force for good.

Judge Ramos found recent discussions about PFAS and their potential dangers significant, noting that the chemicals’ presence would likely concern reasonable consumers. He also highlighted allegations that the Environmental Protection Agency has determined harmful health effects from PFAS can occur at extremely low levels, near zero in some cases.

🍊 Citrus News

To make matters worse, the low supply is being verified together with low quality. According to players surveyed by Cepea, the brix-acid ratio is unsatisfactory, concerning both producers and players from the industry, since it affects the efficiency of processing activities and the quality of the final product. 

The lower juice yield is especially linked to the scarcity of rains during the development of the fruits, which reduced the amount of juice in the fruit. As a result, more oranges are necessary to produce the same amount of juice.

Today, citrus trees don’t drop pearly flowers onto the banks of the St. Johns River. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Mandarin groves, with her prized golden fruit, have long been paved over.

The North Florida citrus industry emerging today is not the one that soured in the 19th century.

It is smaller, more technical and perhaps even more determined, carrying lessons, as Beecher Stowe described, from the citrus trees themselves: “full of sap and greenness; full of lessons of perseverance to us who get frosted down and cut off, time and time again, in our lives.”

Mandadi, a professor in the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology and researcher at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco, has dedicated a decade to studying citrus greening. In the past few years, he and his collaborators have found new potential treatments for citrus greening, offering hope to the producers and consumers alike.

“We’ve seen a nearly 90% loss in citrus production in Florida over the past two decades,” Mandadi said. “Some people think of it as a cancer for citrus trees. If we don’t develop solutions, we’re eventually going to see the same results unfold across the country. But luckily, we’re now much closer to effective, sustainable solutions.”

“Processing plants globally ramped up production – in South Africa working around the clock with three shifts operating to maximise output,” said the Citrus Growers Association’s  (CGA) Justin Chadwick. ”Prices for oranges destined for the processing plants increased six-fold.”

South Africa’s citrus industry is now trying to make sense of it all. For the first time in years, 2024 has seen growth trajectory in fresh citrus exports from South Africa disrupted.

The Company reports net income attributable to Alico, Inc. common stockholders of $7.0 million and EBITDA of $29.7 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. After adjusting for certain non-recurring items, the Company reports Adjusted EBITDA of $(3.8) million for the year ended September 30, 2024.

🔬 Research Worth Reading

Nootkatone is one of the most valuable citrus flavors. Originally isolated from the heartwood of the Nootka cypress (Callitropsis nootkatensis), it was probably the identification of nootkatone as a minor component of grapefruit oil that catapulted this sesquiterpene into the focus of flavor research and made it a highly sought-after citrus aroma in recent decades.

Given the obtained results, it could be concluded that the use of ultrasonic waves could reduce the microbial load of sour cherry juice and also preserve the antioxidant properties of the product effectively. Therefore, the ultrasonic process for the pasteurization of fruit juices can be a suitable alternative for conventional heat treatment.

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