Orange juice and apple juice are the most widely purchased juices for the school meal programs, as well as for consumption nationwide. Although comprehensive data are not available, industry officials believe that the adulteration of apple juice is insignificant. However, these officials emphasized that such tests are not designed to identify potential adulteration. Sixteen of the 18 school districts we contacted required 100-percent-pure juice to meet the Food and Consumer Service’s nutritional standards, but none of these districts took additional steps to ensure that the juice they purchased met this specification. Instead, the schools relied primarily on the integrity of the vendor and the product label. Collectively, it has debarred or is debarring 21 individuals associated with these cases and all three companies that remain in operation. Enhancing Detection Would Increase Costs

Government and industry officials identified two primary options for enhancing the detection of adulterated fruit juice: conducting in-plant inspections and instituting a juice-testing program. (2) What recent federal enforcement actions have been taken against juice adulterators, and what was the magnitude of the fraud? (3) What are the options for enhancing the detection of juice adulteration, including mandatory inspection of juice plants that sell their products to the federal school meal programs? To determine the nature and extent of the adulteration problem and the ability of current inspection and testing methods to detect adulteration, we contacted officials from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and Office of Regulatory Affairs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Consumer Service and Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Florida Department of Citrus, as well as academic experts and officials from private laboratories involved in testing juice for adulteration.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the sale of adulterated fruit juice to school meal programs, focusing on: (1) the nature and extent of the problem; (2) whether federal inspection and testing methods can detect juice adulteration; (3) recent federal enforcement actions taken against juice adulterators; and (4) options for enhancing the detection of adulterated juice.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) juice adulterators have cut costs by adding less expensive ingredients to juice and labeling the product as pure; (2) although most school districts require that the juice it serves be 100 percent pure, they generally rely on the product label and the vendor's integrity to ensure that the juice meets nutritional standards; (3) the extent of juice adulteration is unclear, since juice plant inspections and laboratory tests are not designed to detect adulteration; (4) government and industry officials believe that apple juice adulteration is not a major problem, but as much as 20 percent of the orange juice sold to school meal programs may be adulterated; (5) the Department of Justice has convicted six juice adulterators and the Department of Agriculture has debarred three companies that remain in operation; and (6) in-plant inspections and juice testing programs are potentially effective but costly options for enhancing the detection of adulterated juice.