What is the Volume of a Carton of Orange Juice? Orange juice, which is typically called OJ is one of the most popular juice beverages in the US. According to Statista, over 8.5 million dollars in sales occurs per year of some variety of orange juice. This staple juice became popular around WWII and has remained popular.
What is the Volume of a Carton of Orange Juice?
The volume of a carton of orange juice varies from 8 ounces to 59 ounces. Up until 2010, the volume was a standard 64 ounces of juice per container. With a shrinking profit margin, this was downsized to 59 ounces by the entire orange juice industry.
Orange Juice
Orange juice comes in many flavors, from pure orange to hybrids like the blood orange and even tangerines. The blood orange is a hybrid whose coloration and flavor come from cross-breeding with other plants.
Tangerines are a type of Mandarin Orange and have a light flavor. It is named after its place of origin—Tangier, Morocco. It is also a hybrid and there are many varieties but it can be harder to locate this juice variety.
All varieties of orange juice come in many types of consistencies and containers. You can purchase orange juice with or without pulp. It can be a frozen condensed variety, or come in various containers, from glass bottles of all sizes to cartons of all sizes.
The condensed version needs to be mixed with water but can be stored for months in a freezer and used as needed. It will taste the same once reconstituted. However, it is not the top seller among types of orange juice, and finding a hybrid is extremely difficult in concentrated juice.
All water is squeezed out during processing and the pulp is compressed into a laminated cardboard tube which when opened is placed into a pitcher with enough water that is needed according to package directions.
The most common type of container used for orange juice and seen on store shelves are laminated cardboard cartons. The lamination keeps out sunlight and other bacteria. However, the juice should be used by the “Use By” date for freshness and flavor.
Exploring How Much Volume of Orange Juice is in a Carton
The size of the container varies from single serving size to 59 ounces. Most oranges are grown in either California or Florida, and the State of Florida does point out that a normal serving size is 8 ounces per person.
Up until 2010, the volume was a standard 64 ounces of juice per container. With a shrinking profit margin, this was downsized to 59 ounces by the entire orange juice industry. (3) (Mouse Print, Edgar, 2018).
Many consumers do not notice that the typical size is no longer “typical”. When the cartons were the usual 64 ounces, with an 8-ounce serving per person, had 8 servings. Now you can serve smaller portions or serve fewer individuals.
The cartons look the same size on the store shelves as the width and height are kept the same. However, the depth is not so there is less juice in each container. The price remains the same, however, for a full 64 ounces so most consumers do not check the ounces listed at the bottom.
This is not happening only with orange juice as this “cutback” can be seen in other food products such as ice cream which “melted down” its containers from a full 64 ounces just like orange juice to a mere 56 ounces now in the past two years.
Consumers generally only notice when they realize that the foods they are purchasing such as orange juice and ice cream, although looking the same size, are just not lasting as long!
For a list of drinks without citric acid read this article.
5 Ways to Know What is the Volume of a Carton of Orange Juice
1. Read the bottom of the carton before purchase
It is the law that the total volume must appear at the bottom of each carton. Since it has been many years since a full 64 ounces has been sold, you will find that most cartons contain only 59 ounces.
2. Purchase the concentrate
By doing this, you can control how many ounces you have on hand all the time. You can make a pitcher of 64 ounces easily this way and if you even add a little extra water, you can “stretch” the concentrate.
3. Purchase individual serving-sized containers
Since it was a price point issue for companies that bottle orange juice, the individual serving-sized containers are more costly and more difficult to “shrink” without a consumer noticing.
Each carton or bottle will contain 8 ounces, so if you purchase a package of 8 you are getting the full volume of 64 ounces. If you are trying to save money buy these in bulk packages of 12 to 20 cartons or bottles. These are cases of juice.
4. Purchase from a farm or farmer’s market
Not every area will have orange growers but if there are agricultural entities within an area they will sell freshly squeezed juice in 64-ounce cartons, although the cartons may not be laminated and should be used quickly.
5. Squeeze your own oranges
More and more individuals are now going back to this method, which was done throughout the 1940s to 1970s. It really is not difficult as there are orange juicers available. These juicers have a pointed stem with a curved catcher at the bottom to catch the juice.
You place half an orange on the stem and press down while rotating it. If really you do not want ANY work, electric varieties are now available in almost all department stores.
These can save a ton of money on orange juice, and you can squeeze just per serving or store a whole 64 ounces. The juice is also fresher and retains the Vitamin C that can be lost in the store-bought varieties. (4) Jillian Kubala, Nov. 16, 2021).
Frequently Asked Questions on What is the Volume of a Carton of Orange Juice
If I Squeeze My Own Orange Juice, Can I Freeze It?
You can, although it will be watery unless you squeeze out the water and make it into a concentrate of your own. This takes some practice and it is best to just squeeze what will be consumed in a day or so.
Will Complaining to a Store Manager About the Size of the Carton Help?
Store managers can only sell what the orange juice companies provide and this decision to cut back on the volume was made unilaterally years ago. You can try to write to the companies but profits will generally usually always rule.
How Can I Save Money on Orange Juice Now with Less Volume in Cartons?
You can squeeze your own, or purchase single-serving sizes which although more costly prevent waste, are really convenient, and in the long run, you are getting more juice for your money.
Sources
- https://www.statista.com/topics/6823/orange-juice-market-in-the-
us/#dossierKeyfigures. (M. Ridder, Jan. 12, 2022)
- https://www.floridacitrus.org/oj/health-nutrition/oj-nutrition-facts/florida-
orange-juice-serving-
size/#:~:text=The%20standard%20serving%20size%20for%20100%25%20or
ange%20juice,the%20Nutrition%20Facts%20Panel%29%20is%208%20fluid
%20ounces. - https://www.mouseprint.org/2018/08/13/tropicana-orange-juice-
downsizes-again/ (Edgar, 2018). - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/oranges#nutrition (Jillian Kubala,
Nov. 16, 2021).
Conclusion on What is the Volume of a Carton of Orange Juice
The volume of a carton of orange juice is between 8 ounces to 59 ounces and has decreased over the years and many consumers have not even noticed. The standard volume was 64 ounces per container and was downsized to 59 ounces of orange juice in the last years.