I can't see the cranberries for all the sugar! (Tesco Cranberry Juice Drink)

Member Name: AJ26

Product:	Tesco Cranberry Juice Drink
Date:	22/04/09 (242 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes nice, full of Vitamin C, good price

Disadvantages: Full of sugar, made from concentrate

I like to start my day with a glass of fruit juice along with my breakfast. A glass of fruit juice counts as 1 of your 5 portions of fruit and vegetables that you should aim to eat each day. For many years I have always had orange juice but more recently have tried to vary my juice and try some new ones. One juice that I have discovered I like is Cranberry so I have been trying a few different varieties to see which I like best.

This one I am reviewing today is the Tesco Cranberry Juice Drink. It is a cranberry juice drink made with cranberry juice from concentrate. It is found in the aisles with the soft drinks and is not in the chilled cabinet. However before drinking you should chill it in the fridge and keep it refrigerated once open.

The juice contains water, glucose-fructose syrup, cranberry juice from concentrate, sugar, malic acid, colour, natural flavouring and Vitamin C. I was disappointed to discover that the cranberry juice (from concentrate) only actually makes up 10% of the total ingredients. That really doesn't sound a lot and the fact that the sugary syrup comes higher up doesn't make this juice sound very good for you! What is nice to see is that there are no artificial flavours or colours and no aspartame which was in the last reduced sugar cranberry juice I tried.

Nutritionally for a 250ml serving there are -
Calories - 130 kcal
Sugars - 31g


A 250ml serving also contains 104% of your RDA of Vitamin C.

I was quite shocked to see the amount of sugar, this is 34% of your guideline daily amount of sugar.

The juice drink comes in a 1 litre cardboard carton and costs 69p. At the top there is a plastic flip opener which when you open it for the first time punctures a hole into the carton and allowing you to pour the juice. You can then push the plastic cap back down to reseal the carton. The drink should be used within 5 days of opening. Having a glass each day you can easily use this up in the best before time even if you are the only one drinking it.

The juice is a lovely reddish pink cranberry colour. It tastes quite cranberry flavoured, it's really quite refreshing, you can taste the sweetness of it. This is hardly surprising considering the amount of sugar they have added to it. I really like the taste but I think it would still taste really nice with a little less sugar. It is definitely the most fruity cranberry juice I have tasted so far.

This is a nice juice, a good source of Vitamin C and is nice and fruity tasting. However having examined the ingredients and discovered just how much sugar has been added I really don't think I would buy this again. It's all very well having one of your 5 a day as a juice but when it's got that much sugar it really would be better for you not to have it. I am off on my search again to find a better more natural juice with less added sugar. Wish me luck!

Summary: A cranberry juice drink which tastes lovely but is packed with sugar.