The business model for raw cold-pressed juice is based on the owner's commitment to deliver a hand-crafted, premium-quality product that uses the freshest ingredients without any preservatives, processing agents, pasteurization, or high pressure during the production process. After pressing, they must get the juice into the hands of the customer quickly before the taste starts to diminish – typically between four and five days.
Keeping enzymes intact
This short window of time limits a juice businesses' ability to grow and leads many owners to extend the shelf life of their juice through pasteurization or high pressure processing (HPP). The time the juice spends in the pasteurization machine is ultimately what determines its shelf life but the moment that pasteurization first occurs, the enzymes are broken down due to high heat and the juice has lost its nutritional value, which was the entire purpose of pressing the juice to begin with. While HPP uses extreme high pressure (and substantially less heat than pasteurization), the exact impact to juice enzymes is largely unknown due to the costly testing process that occurs at a single point-in-time shortly after the juice has been processed. Without additional testing, there is no way to understand how the enzymes break down over the shelf life of the juice.
Most, if not all, of the juice products in grocery stores, at airports, etc. are pasteurized or high pressure processed and offer little to no health benefit. I say most because State laws determine whether raw juice can be resold locally to the end consumer via a wholesale distribution model. It can be in Florida.
Read the label
To determine whether juice is raw without pasteurization or HPP, simply read the label; it will tell you so via a warning. The warning advises that pasteurization has not been used to kill any bacteria that came into contact with the fruit or vegetables. But, have no fear, the Department of Agriculture does require fruit and vegetables to be washed and sanitized before pressing. Additionally, you will see a ‘consume by’ date that’s no more than a few days away.
If juice has been pasteurized or gone through HPP, it is not required to be labeled as such and there will be no warning.
All juice presses are not created equal
The Veg’n Out juice line is not made to order on demand because we masticate or slow juice using a cold press. This avoids creating heat during the extraction process and leaves enzymes and nutrients completely intact. Made-to-order juice is pressed with a centrifugal (or fast) juicer that creates heat during extraction, breaking down the nutrients during the process. As new presses come to market to fill the need for on-demand cold-pressed juice, we will watch to see whether one makes sense for our Lake Nona location.
The bottom line
Raw, cold-pressed juice is a premium product that is hand-crafted in small batches and a true labor of love – all in the name of your health.
What you eat will determine the inflammation within your body and ultimately how you feel. Think about adding raw, cold-pressed juice into your diet to see its medicinal and preventive properties work in your life. At Veg’n Out, our juice line and cleanse program were created in collaboration with a holistic nutritionist to help you feel better from the inside out, one juice at a time.
Click here to learn more about our juice line and cleanse program that is available for delivery today!