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Old Orchard Healthy Balance Apple Flavored Reduced Sugar Juice Cocktail From Concentrate
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors (CC BY-SA)

Fruit-based beverages

Old Orchard Healthy Balance Apple Flavored Reduced Sugar Juice Cocktail From Concentrate

1.89 L

Poor out of 100 Medium confidence
  • Ultra-processed
  • Contains non-nutritive sweeteners
  • Contains added sugars
  • No synthetic dyes
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Why it scores 22

Old Orchard Healthy Balance Apple Flavored Reduced Sugar Juice Cocktail From Concentrate scores 22 out of 100 (Poor) under GoodSwap’s published rules. What moved the score most:

  1. Fruit juice concentrate (sweetener): An added sugar. Strong
  2. Caramel color: The FDA says classes III and IV, which can contain 4-MEI, are the most commonly used food color additives by volume. Regulatory
  3. Ultra-processed (NOVA 4): Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. Strong

Every line of the math is on The Receipt below, with its evidence tier and sources.

Better juices and juice drinks

The same kind of product, at least 10 points higher, sold in the US. Never paid placements.

The Receipt

Healthy Balance Apple Flavored Reduced Sugar Juice Cocktail From Concentrate

START100

Ingredients

  • Fruit juice concentrate (sweetener)
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • Caramel color
    Regulatory The FDA says classes III and IV, which can contain 4-MEI, are the most commonly used food color additives by volume. [4][5][6][7]
  • Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K)
    Strong In the NutriNet-Santé cohort, acesulfame-K intake was associated with higher cancer risk; cause and effect is not established. [8][9][10][2]
  • Sucralose
    Strong In a 2022 randomized study, sucralose and saccharin altered the gut microbiome and impaired glucose responses in some people; a 2023 lab study raised questions about its by-product sucralose-6-acetate. [11][12][13][10][2]
subtotal−50

Processing

  • Ultra-processed (NOVA 4)
    Strong Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. [14]
  • 3 kinds of ultra-processing markers
    Emerging Industrial additive classes found: color (added), industrial sugar or starch hydrolysate and non-nutritive sweetener. [14]
subtotal−21

Nutrition per 100 ml

  • Sugars 1.7 g / 100 ml
    Strong High in sugar. [1]
  • Energy 8 kcal / 100 ml
    Info Energy-dense for its volume. [2]
subtotal−7
TOTAL 22Poor

100 − 78 = 22

Can’t score above 79. Contains fruit juice concentrate (sweetener), an ingredient of high concern. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

GTIN 00075355112296 · 2026-04-02

score v1.3.0 · kb 2026.10.11

Medium confidence

Same product, same score. Every time.

Nutrition per 100 ml

Energy8 kcal
Fat0 g
Saturated fat0 g
Carbohydrates1.7 g
Sugars1.7 g
Added sugars0 g
Fiber0 g
Protein0 g
Salt0 g

Serving: 8 OZA (240 ml)

Ingredients

High Moderate Not recognized Tap an ingredient for its evidence and rules.
Label text, as published

FILTERED WATER, APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE, MALIC ACID, CARAMEL COLOR, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, SUCRALOSE (SPLENDA BRAND).

Allergens and diets

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten-free
  • Palm-oil-free

Always check the package: recipes change.

Packaging

Plastic

Context only: no points in v1.

Healthiest fruit-based beverages in the US

More from Old Orchard

Sources

  1. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

    World Health Organization · Mar 4, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”

    who.int

  2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture · January 2026 · Regulator

    “Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”

    cdn.realfood.gov

  3. Added and free sugars should be as low as possible

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 28, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  4. Questions & Answers About 4-MEI

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Mar 27, 2020 · Regulator

    “Based on current science, the FDA has no reason to believe that there are any immediate or short-term health risks presented by 4-MEI at the levels expected in food.”

    fda.gov

  5. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int

  6. Caramel Color in Soft Drinks and Exposure to 4-Methylimidazole: A Quantitative Risk Assessment

    PLOS ONE · Feb 18, 2015 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  7. Proposition 65 List of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity

    California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) · Jul 31, 2026 · Law

    “The date refers to the initial appearance of the chemical on the list.”

    oehha.ca.gov

  8. Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk: Results from the NutriNet-Santé population-based cohort study

    PLOS Medicine · Mar 24, 2022 · Peer-reviewed

    “In this large cohort study, artificial sweeteners (especially aspartame and acesulfame-K), which are used in many food and beverage brands worldwide, were associated with increased cancer risk.”

    doi.org

  9. Re-evaluation of acesulfame K (E 950) as food additive (plain language summary)

    European Food Safety Authority · Apr 30, 2025 · Agency assessment

    “The acceptable daily intake (ADI) considered safe for all population groups was set at 15 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  10. WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline

    World Health Organization · May 15, 2023 · Agency assessment

    “The recommendation is based on the findings of a systematic review of the available evidence which suggests that use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children.”

    who.int

  11. Personalized microbiome-driven effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on human glucose tolerance

    Cell · September 2022 · Peer-reviewed

    “As groups, each administered NNS distinctly altered stool and oral microbiome and plasma metabolome, whereas saccharin and sucralose significantly impaired glycemic responses.”

    doi.org

  12. Toxicological and pharmacokinetic properties of sucralose-6-acetate and its parent sucralose: in vitro screening assays

    Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B · Aug 18, 2023 · Peer-reviewed

    “Sucralose-6-acetate significantly increased the expression of genes associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer”

    doi.org

  13. EFSA finds sucralose safe when used as currently authorised; cannot confirm safety of extending its use

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 17, 2026 · Agency assessment

    “EFSA’s experts concluded that the sweetener sucralose (E 955) continues to be safe for consumers for its currently authorised uses as a food additive.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  14. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them

    Public Health Nutrition · April 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  15. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses

    BMJ · Feb 28, 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “Greater exposure to ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, especially cardiometabolic, common mental disorder, and mortality outcomes.”

    doi.org

  16. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake

    Cell Metabolism · July 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org