Alarming Number of Microplastics in Industrialized Beverages in Brazil

Did you know? The first job advertisements appeared almost at the same time as the first major newspapers. The Guardian, for example, one of the world’s oldest surviving newspapers, founded in 1821, began publishing them in the late 1840s.

So yeah, I’m really late to the game… yet here we are: With today the first official job offer in Juice News. Big thanks and shout out to Donald Truss for taking the leap.

Juice News 🧃

PepsiCo Completes Acquisition of poppi, Accelerating Strategic Portfolio Transformation

PepsiCo, Inc. ("PepsiCo") today announced that it has closed the acquisition of poppi for $1.95 billion, including $300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits for a net purchase price of $1.65 billion. The transaction also includes a performance-based earnout contingent on achieving certain performance metrics.

How Coke Freestyle Machines And AI Personalized Recipes Work: An Exclusive Look Behind The Scenes

Coke Freestyle machines are the embodiment of the classic brand evolving with the world around it. The touch screen beverage dispensers present seemingly endless choice to Coke consumers, offering hundreds of flavor options and fountain drink combinations at a variety of fast food restaurants, movie theaters, and beyond. Naturally, the next evolution for such a tech-forward product involves artificial intelligence.

Young people aren’t drinking alcohol — instead, they’re sipping cans of THC

As young people pour less booze in their cups, they are instead choosing other options, from non-alcoholic beers and apéritifs to healthy, prebiotic sodas like Poppi and Ollipop, and THC drinks. Although the strength depends on the brand, you can view THC-infused drinks like mild weed edibles. Just like gummies, these drinks are made with hemp-derived THC, which is THC extracted from hemp plants. And like alcohol, you have to be 21 or over to buy them.

Beverage giants Pepsi and Coke wade into the 'dirty soda' movement

Pepsi launched Drips last September with a beverage truck pop-up in New York City. The menu currently consists of nine core drinks. The idea is to capture the craft or “dirty soda” trend, in which branded beverages are customized with syrups, mix-ins and other flavors, said Justin Schwarz, senior director of marketing for PepsiCo.

RTD Tea 3.0: What is the next stage of evolution in China’s beverage space?

“Over the past two decades we have seen RTD teas evolve in several stages - first was RTD Tea 1.0 in 2005 when flavoured teas were all the rage, then RTD Tea 2.0 in 2015 when consumers starting looking for less sugar or zero sugar teas,” Tasly Great Health Industry Chairman Kaijing Yan told the floor at the recent Food and Beverage Innovation Forum (FBIF) 2025 in Shanghai.

“Now in 2025, we are rapidly moving into the era of RTD Tea 3.0 which is essentially functional teas - but specifically for RTD teas, this means teas that are no longer just zero or less sugar, but instead now must be able to help consumers to actively reduce their blood sugar.

Sprite Drops Refreshing Take on Tea With New LTO – Sprite + Tea

“The Sprite + Tea concept started out as an intern research project, which is really fun and interesting,” adds A.P. Chaney, Senior Creative Director, Sparkling Flavors North America. “When it blew up on TikTok with millions of views, it was a gut check that we were on the right track. Because you never go wrong when you listen to consumers and tap into what they're doing by becoming part of their everyday.”

Transforming waste into value: Used beverage cartons recycling in Egypt by Tetra Pak and Uniboard

In 2024, Tetra Pak and Uniboard inaugurated the first UBC recycling production line in Egypt, with a joint investment €2.5 million aimed at recycling 8,000 tons of UBC annually.

• Uniboard papermill is the ONLY recycler in Egypt that recycles used beverage cartons (UBC).

• Uniboard papermill has dedicated and best-fit equipment capable of recycling 8,000 tons of UBC annually.

Jobs 👋🏻

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Citrus Formulations Product Scientist, Central Florida

Lead product formulations from concept through commercialization and launch. Enhance existing products and process efficiency. Collaborate with cross-functional team members and external partners to deliver high-quality, safe, and cost-effective products that deliver in the marketplace. Work in our new Innovation Center lab, test kitchens and manufacturing environments. 

The Food Talent Network

Citrus News 🍊

Brazil Crop increase in 25/26 indicates a relief for the sector concerned about inventories

In case processing activities follow the harvesting increase at the same proportion, inventories by July 2026 are likely to be close to a safer volume to supply the global market. As a result, prices paid to producers, which hit records in the crop before (especially in October 2024), may not remain at the same levels. Thus, quotations are likely to continue above the historical average.

ICAR-CCRI develops citrus products, transforms waste into opportunity

Joining the world in its quest for innovation and sustainability, especially in fruit processing, ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute (ICAR-CCRI), Nagpur, has led the way in developing a series of citrus-value-added products and functional foods. With hardly 5% of India's citrus crop being processed, as compared to 70–80% in developed countries, the institute believes in converting post-harvest problems into economic benefits for citrus farmers.

Research Worth Reading 🔬

What's in Our Drinks? First Comparison of Microplastic Contamination in Industrialized Beverages in Brazil

The highest average concentration of microplastics was detected in fruit juice, packaged in carton (547.7 ± 427.7 MP/L), while the lowest was found in pure fruit juice, packaged in PET bottles (average of 9.1 ± 9.4 MP/L). Results indicate that beverages may represent an important source of MPs for the population, and this first study is a valuable case for future assessments of the possible health risks associated with their consumption.

Scientists rediscover orange tree variety that may be tolerant to greening disease

ARS scientists at the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, FL, assessed citrus trees with oranges that could be potentially used for commercial production of orange juice.

During their assessment, the scientists found a sweet orange tree named "Donaldson" at the A.H. Whitmore Citrus Research Foundation Farm in Groveland, FL. This tree is a selection from the USDA-ARS variety collection that represents more than 100 years of USDA-ARS research on citrus in Florida.

Nursery Characteristics and Field Performance of Nine Novel Citrus Rootstocks under HLB-endemic Conditions

This study evaluates nine novel citrus rootstocks for their field performance to identify those that most enhance yield, fruit quality, and disease tolerance under HLB-endemic growing conditions.This study provides insights regarding the potential of nine novel rootstocks and similar hybrid progeny to meet the current challenges faced by the citrus industry.

Identification and analysis of functional regulatory elements and RNAi silencing genes in mandarin clementine (Citrus clementina)

These findings provide valuable insights for the molecular exploration of RNAi genes, potentially aiding in the improvement of Citrus clementina crops in response to stress factors.