Vegetable Juice Concentrate
Vegetable juice concentrate is juice extracted from vegetables and reduced by evaporation or membrane concentration to a high solids liquid, used as a beverage base, a savoury flavour ingredient and, for the strongly pigmented species, as a colouring foodstuff.
The category is defined by its raw materials rather than by a single composition. Carrot, tomato, beetroot, pumpkin, celery, cucumber, spinach, cabbage and bell pepper all appear in trade, and they differ in almost every respect that matters. Soluble solids at single strength are low, generally 4 to 10 Brix, so concentration factors are high, and concentrates are traded anywhere from 30 to 65 Brix. The pH is the key process variable: most vegetable juices sit between 5.0 and 6.5, well above the acid food boundary of 4.6, which means Clostridium botulinum control is the deciding factor for any ambient product and either acidification or a full sterilising process is required. Colour is carotenoid based in carrot, pumpkin and tomato, betalain based in beetroot and chlorophyll based in leafy species, and all three pigment classes are heat and oxygen sensitive.
Concentrate travels as a viscous liquid, frozen in drums and pails or filled aseptically, and also as spray dried powder. It disperses in water on stirring, with cloudy grades requiring agitation. Colour loss and the development of a cooked vegetable note under thermal load are the recurring quality limits.
We source bulk Vegetable Juice Concentrate from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shandong. 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.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Beverage ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Viscous liquid, clear or cloudy by grade, free from foreign matter |
| Colour | Characteristic of the declared vegetable species |
| Flavour and odour | Typical of the source, no cooked, musty or fermented off note |
| Soluble solids | 30.0 to 65.0 Brix at 20 degrees Celsius, declared per grade |
| pH | 4.0 to 6.5 according to species and acidification |
| Colour value | Reported per lot by absorbance, pigmented grades |
| Total solids | Declared per lot against the source specification |
| Nitrate | Reported per lot, leafy and root species |
| Lead | 0.1 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 0.1 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 1000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 50 cfu/g maximum |
| Escherichia coli | Negative in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Negative in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Grades are set first by species, since a carrot concentrate and a beetroot concentrate share almost nothing beyond the process route. Within a species the distinctions are clarified against cloudy material, single strength against concentrated, and, for the pigmented species, whether the concentrate is sold as a food ingredient or as a colouring foodstuff, which is a different specification with the pigment content declared and controlled.
Beyond that, lots are traded as deodorised or non deodorised, since concentrates used purely for colour are often processed to strip the vegetable flavour, and as fermented or unfermented, because beetroot and carrot concentrates for colour use are sometimes fermented to reduce the nitrate and sugar content. Powder grades on maltodextrin are specified on moisture, solubility and colour value. Organic certification, nitrate content and pesticide residue results are routine specification points, and colour value measured spectrophotometrically is the attribute that determines price for the pigmented grades.
Applications
- Vegetable and mixed fruit and vegetable juice drinks, reconstituted from concentrate
- Soups, broths, stocks and bouillon, supplying savoury depth in a liquid form
- Sauces, ketchups, dressings and condiment bases
- Colouring foodstuffs for confectionery, bakery and dairy, using beetroot, carrot or pumpkin concentrate
- Meat and processed meat products, where beetroot and celery concentrates contribute colour and cured character
- Ready meals and retort products, replacing fresh vegetables with a consistent liquid input
- Snack and crisp seasoning slurries before drying onto a carrier
- Infant and toddler purees and drinks formulated without added salt
- Pet food palatants and coatings
- Fermented vegetable drinks and shots sold on a wellness positioning
China Manufacturers of Vegetable Juice Concentrate
Top Vegetable 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
In the United States vegetable juices and their concentrates are conventional foods, and juice processors operate the hazard analysis and critical control point plan required by 21 CFR Part 120. Because most vegetable juices have a pH above 4.6, ambient shelf stable products are handled either under the low acid canned food regulations with a filed scheduled process, or under the acidified foods regulation where acid is added and pH is controlled as a critical control point. Vegetable juice used specifically to colour another food is a colour additive exempt from certification in the United States, with vegetable juice and dehydrated vegetable juice listed for that purpose, and this status brings its own labelling and specification requirements distinct from its use as a food ingredient.
In the European Union vegetable juices fall outside the Fruit Juice Directive and are governed by general food law and the hygiene regulations. The distinction that matters most is between a colouring foodstuff, produced by a non selective process and labelled as a food ingredient, and a colour additive, produced by selective extraction of pigment and requiring authorisation with an E number, and concentrates marketed for colour are assessed against the Commission guidance on that boundary. Nitrate in leafy vegetable and beetroot material is subject to maximum levels under the contaminants regulation and is the specification point most often tested. Codex covers the field through its code of hygienic practice for fresh fruits and vegetables and its general contaminant standard.
Manufacturing Process
Vegetables are received in season, washed thoroughly and inspected, then trimmed, topped and peeled according to the crop, with root vegetables steam peeled or scrubbed and leafy material trimmed and washed in several stages. Most crops are blanched, which inactivates peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase, softens the tissue and improves pigment release, though blanching is minimised for chlorophyll bearing species because the pigment converts to olive brown pheophytin under heat and acid. The blanched material is milled or comminuted and pressed on a belt, decanter or screw press, with leafy material handled on a screw press and firm roots on a belt press.
Raw juice is screened and centrifuged. Clarified grades are enzyme treated with pectinase and cellulase, fined and filtered on diatomaceous earth or a crossflow membrane, while cloudy grades pass forward with their suspended solids. The juice is deaerated under vacuum and concentrated, either in a falling film or forced circulation evaporator under vacuum where a high concentration factor is needed, or by reverse osmosis where pigment retention matters most. Some pigmented concentrates are fermented before concentration to reduce sugars and nitrate. The concentrate is pasteurised or sterilised according to the pH and intended storage, cooled rapidly and filled aseptically, frozen, or taken forward to a spray dryer with a carrier.
