Blueberry Juice Concentrate
Blueberry juice concentrate is pressed blueberry juice from which the water has been removed under vacuum, standardised to a fixed soluble solids level, most commonly 65 degrees Brix, and traded as the reconstitutable form of the juice.
Unlike a purée concentrate it contains only the serum of the fruit. Skins, seeds and pulp are removed at pressing and clarification, so what remains is the sugar and acid fraction, the soluble anthocyanins and other polyphenols that were extracted from the skin during mashing, and the minerals and amino acids of the juice. Sugars are almost entirely fructose and glucose, acidity is dominated by citric acid with quinic and malic acid behind it, and the pH sits near 3. That low pH is what keeps the anthocyanins in their red flavylium form and gives the concentrate its stable colour, since the same pigments turn dull and blue grey as pH approaches neutrality.
The concentrate is a dense, deep purple red liquid that pours slowly at room temperature and barely at all when cold. It is filled into drums, pails and aseptic bags and held frozen or chilled, because anthocyanin loss during storage is temperature dependent and a concentrate held warm loses colour measurably over a few months. Reconstitution to single strength juice restores the reference Brix of the fruit.
We source bulk Blueberry Juice Concentrate from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Hebei. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Beverage ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Viscous liquid, clear and free from sediment on reconstitution |
| Colour | Deep purple red, matched to the retained colour standard |
| Flavour and odour | Characteristic blueberry, no cooked, fermented or oxidised note |
| Total soluble solids | 65.0 degrees Brix minimum at 20 degrees Celsius |
| Acidity, as citric acid | 3.0 to 5.5 percent on concentrate |
| pH | 2.8 to 3.3 |
| Clarity on reconstitution | No haze or sediment after 24 hours at 20 degrees Celsius |
| Total anthocyanins | Declared per lot, expressed as cyanidin 3 glucoside |
| Lead | 0.05 mg/kg maximum |
| Patulin | Not detected at the method limit of quantification |
| Total plate count | 100 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 10 cfu/g maximum |
| Escherichia coli | Negative in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Negative in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Clarity is the first grade line. Clear concentrate, depectinised and filtered until no haze forms on reconstitution, is used in clear juice blends and in supplement liquids. Cloudy concentrate, depectinised but not clarified, retains fine particulate and gives a fuller colour and mouthfeel. Both are quoted at 65 degrees Brix as standard, with 68 degrees Brix material traded where freight is being minimised further, and acidity and the Brix to acid ratio specified alongside.
Fruit type divides wild lowbush material, which carries the higher anthocyanin content and a sharper flavour, from cultivated highbush material, and the two are priced separately rather than interchangeably. Colour rich grades selected on absorbance are sold to buyers using the concentrate for its colour, while flavour grades are selected on aroma. Further lines cover organic certified concentrate, de-aromatised concentrate with the volatile fraction stripped and sold separately as an aroma essence, and concentrate blended with apple or grape juice concentrate, which must be declared as a blend rather than sold as single fruit.
Applications
- Reconstituted blueberry juice and juice blends, diluted back to the reference Brix of the fruit
- Superfruit and antioxidant positioned drinks, dosed for both colour and label declaration
- Functional shots and wellness beverages specified on polyphenol or anthocyanin content
- Flavoured waters and light juice drinks, where a small dose gives visible colour
- Yoghurt drinks and dairy beverages formulated below pH 4.2 so the pigment stays red
- Nutritional supplements, syrups and gummies using blueberry as the polyphenol source
- Confectionery and fruit chews, where the high solids limit added water in the cook
- Ice pops, sorbets and frozen novelties, contributing colour and depressing the freezing point
- Bakery glazes and fruit sauces, thickened and used as a finishing layer
- Spray dried powders on maltodextrin for dry beverage mixes and tablets
Brands Using Blueberry Juice Concentrate
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Blueberry Juice Concentrate on the ingredient label.
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Blueberry Juice Concentrate
Top Blueberry Juice Concentrate manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Blueberry juice concentrate is a food, not a food additive, so no E number applies. In the European Union concentrated fruit juice is a defined product under Directive 2001/112/EC as amended, which sets out the permitted treatments, requires the reconstituted product to return to the reference Brix for the fruit, and prohibits the addition of sugars to anything sold as juice or concentrated juice. Manufacture falls under Regulation 852/2004 and the general food law. In the United States the concentrate is a conventional food produced under 21 CFR Part 117, and where it is reconstituted and sold as juice the juice hazard analysis regulation at 21 CFR Part 120 applies, requiring a validated five log pathogen reduction. Percentage juice declaration on finished beverages follows 21 CFR 101.30.
Two further points recur in this trade. Where the concentrate is bought specifically to colour another food, the line between a colouring foodstuff and a colour additive has to be settled: in the European Union this depends on whether the pigment has been selectively extracted relative to the rest of the fruit, following the Commission guidance on that distinction, while in the United States fruit juice used for colouring is a colour additive exempt from certification and listed at 21 CFR 73.250. Authenticity is the second point, since juice concentrates are a recognised target for adulteration with cheaper juice or with added sugar, and buyers routinely apply sugar profile, stable isotope and anthocyanin fingerprint testing against reference data. Regulation 396/2005 sets pesticide residue limits in the European Union, and 40 CFR Part 180 sets tolerances in the United States.
Manufacturing Process
Frozen or fresh berries are cleaned of stems, leaves and unsound fruit, then milled to a mash. The mash is warmed and dosed with pectinase, which degrades the cell wall pectin, raising press yield and releasing the skin anthocyanins into the liquid phase. Some plants hold the enzyme treated mash warm for a short period specifically to extract colour before pressing. The mash is then pressed on a belt or horizontal press and the pomace is often re-extracted with water and pressed again, and that second juice is used for lower colour grades.
Raw juice is given a second enzyme treatment to remove residual pectin and starch, fined and then filtered, through diatomaceous earth or sheet filters in traditional plants and increasingly through ultrafiltration membranes, until it will not develop haze on reconstitution. Aroma is stripped from the juice in a column at the front of the evaporator and recovered as an aroma concentrate that is either sold separately or added back. Water is removed in a multi effect falling film evaporator under vacuum, at low temperature and short residence time so that pigment loss is limited, until the juice reaches the target Brix. The concentrate is standardised, given a short pasteurisation, flash cooled and filled into drums, pails or aseptic bags, then held frozen or chilled.
