Woman Worried After Spotting An Odd Detail On Minute Maid Orange Juice Label: 'Why Does It...'

Knowledge is power. Well, sometimes it is just a disappointment. A loyal Minute Maid customer, who claimed she had been drinking the "orange drink" for years, was baffled after she discovered bizarre information mentioned in the fine print at the back of the bottle. TikTok user Sadi the Badi (@sadithebadi) decided to share her observation in a viral video, viewed 40,000 times, and convey her concerns on the internet. She might have received some answers. 

“What does this look to you?”, the TikTok creator said as she held up a bright orange bottle of Minute Maid Nutri+ Orange, with a big label flashing, “200% VIT C”. While we are not aware if the orange juice is actually that nutritious, the customer was generous to reveal that one of the ingredients in the drink was fish. “Tell me why, why does it contain fish?” the shocked woman asked, zooming into the fine print to show the allergen warning to the viewers. “I’m sorry, what?” Sadi quipped in the end. Clueless about the fact that “fish” was one of the ingredients of her favorite juice, the creator captioned the post, “Am I missing something here?!”

Thankfully, the internet had her back and provided some clarification on the concerning ingredient. While an orange juice is supposed to contain nothing but fresh pulp from oranges, and in some cases, few preservatives in packaged drinks, Minute Maid was barely an orange juice. The popular opinion was that it was an orange “drink” rather than juice and had an array of ingredients and flavoring to heighten the taste and texture. Explaining why the packaging mentions fish, a person (@umethias) said, “It has isinglass. It's a gelatin from fish that is used during production to remove impurities in the juice. Some wines also use isinglass.” 

Simultaneously, the post was flooded with insights. “Word ‘drink’ is first clue there is more than orange juice in there!” pointed out another (@suzannemariegloster). “How is something 200%?” quipped a third internet user (@jaana.f.u). Many resorted to humor to tackle the subject. “There's something fishy about that juice,” said @kevin_teddybear while @aminovski.dz mused, “100% vitamin C and 100% vitamin SEA.” “Fish allergen, not fish. Probably something in the factory is made with fish,” theorized @westerlands.

Someone else (@brucewayne184) shared an elaborate explanation about food ingredients, stating, “Food products cannot have 200% on their label in terms of ingredients, but it can apply to volume and selling price, which should be red flags all over the place, important to read the ingredients.” 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Isinglass is a firm, whitish, semitransparent substance obtained from air-bladders of freshwater fishes. It is used for making jellies, for clarifying liquors, manufacturing glue, and other purposes. A study published in PubMed Central states that orange juice is the most consumed fruit juice across the globe and hence, contains many food preservatives.

Sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, and other mixtures have long been added to the drinks for mass production. Consequently, these preservatives could have a detrimental effect on humans. Interestingly, true, freshly squeezed orange juice has a shelf life of only a few hours. Therefore, to maintain their stability, orange drinks have several food preservatives imbued in the mixture to make it last longer, per Chem Bell. 

You can follow @sadithebadi on TikTok for more updates.