Juice percentage declaration.

What 21 CFR 101.30 covers

Section 101.30 is titled "Percentage juice declaration for foods purporting to be beverages that contain fruit or vegetable juice." The eCFR version current through October 29, 2026 has a history running from 58 FR 2925 (January 6, 1993) to 81 FR 59131 (August 29, 2016). Paragraph (m) in the printed text says products purporting to be juice beverages were exempt only until May 8, 1994, and that products labeled on or after that date must comply.

Which beverages need it: paragraph (a)

The section applies to any food that purports to be a beverage containing fruit or vegetable juice. That includes a label or advertising that bears the name of a juice or a variation, a vignette (a picture of a fruit or vegetable), or other pictorial representation, and a product whose color and flavor give it the appearance and taste of juice. The beverage may be carbonated or not, concentrated, full-strength, diluted, or contain no juice. The section gives its own example: a soft drink that does not represent or suggest by its name, labeling, ingredient statement or advertising that it contains juice "does not purport to contain juice and therefore does not require a percent juice declaration."

Wording: paragraph (b) and (d)

• (b)(1) "Contains __ percent (or %) ______ juice" or "__ percent (or %) juice," with the percentage as a whole number not greater than the actual percentage, for example "Contains 50 percent apple juice."
• (b)(2) Under 1 percent: "less than 1 percent juice" or "less than 1 percent ______ juice."
• (b)(3) 100 percent juice that also contains non-juice ingredients that do not reduce juice soluble solids or change volume, when the declaration is on a panel without the ingredient statement, must be accompanied by "with added ______" (for example "100% juice with added sweetener"), unless the non-juice ingredients are part of the statement of identity.
• (d) A beverage with no juice whose labeling or color and flavor implies juice must say "contains zero (0) percent (or %) juice," or alternatively "contains no ______ juice," "no ______ juice" or "does not contain ______ juice," using "fruit" or "vegetable" when the suggestion is general.

Flavor-only exemption: paragraph (c)

If a beverage has minor amounts of juice for flavoring and is labeled with a flavor description using "flavor," "flavored" or "flavoring" with a fruit or vegetable name, then a total percentage declaration is not required provided it does not use the word "juice" on the label outside the ingredient statement, does not carry an explicit vignette of the source fruit such as juice exuding from it, and has no specific physical resemblance to a juice such as pulp.

Placement and type size: paragraphs (e) to (g)

On a package with an information panel (defined in 101.2), the declaration is placed prominently on the information panel in lines generally parallel to other required information, near the top with nothing above it except the brand name, product name, logo or universal product code, in easily legible boldface type in distinct contrast and in a height not less than the largest type on the panel except that used for the brand name, product name, logo, UPC, the title "Nutrition Facts," serving size, "Calories" and the calorie number. It may also appear on the principal display panel if consistent. A package without an information panel carries it on the principal display panel in type not smaller than the net quantity statement (101.7(i)), near the name of the food.

Brix, expressed juice and blends: paragraphs (h) to (l)

For juice from concentrate, FDA says it will calculate the labeled percentage using the minimum Brix levels of single-strength juice in the (h)(1) table. Examples from that table: apple 11.5, orange 11.8, grape 16.0, cranberry 7.5, tomato 5.0, lemon and lime 4.5 (anhydrous citric acid percent by weight) and grapefruit 10.0 (refractometer value that may be corrected for citric acid). Juices with no listed value are calculated from the soluble solids content of the single-strength juice used. Juice expressed directly from fruit (not concentrated and reconstituted) is considered 100 percent juice and declared "100 percent juice" (i). Blends or dilutions made from expressed juice are computed on a volume/volume basis (j). A juice modified until unrecognizable or depleted of its normal nutrient range is not counted (k). A beverage with under 100 percent juice may not carry another percentage describing its juice, such as "100 percent natural" (l), though unrelated percentages like a vitamin C percent are allowed.

Worked example

A cranberry blend is 47.6 percent juice. The declaration must be a whole number not greater than 47.6, so it reads "Contains 47 percent juice" and not 48. A fruit-flavored soda showing pictured oranges with no juice must say "contains zero (0) percent juice" or "contains no orange juice." If lab analysis finds a cranberry-derived Brix of 3.75, that is 3.75 / 7.5 = 50 percent of the table's single-strength minimum, a plain ratio shown only to illustrate the table. Actual FDA calculations may involve more than this ratio.

Limits of this page

The tool formats the declaration and looks up one Brix value. It does not analyze juice, does not decide whether a beverage "purports" to contain juice beyond the example in (a), and does not cover type-size measurement or the information panel definition in 101.2. Confirm with FDA or a labeling professional.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 21 CFR 101.30, Percentage juice declaration for foods purporting to be beverages that contain fruit or vegetable juice (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR part 101, Food labeling (read November 2, 2026)