The Food and Drug Administration is proposing to reduce dissolved sugar content requirements in orange juice amid U.S. growers' ongoing struggles with citrus greening disease.

The agency is considering lowering minimum "Brix level" requirements used to measure dissolved sugar content from 10.5% to 10% for pasteurized orange juice in response to a 2024 citizen petition from the Florida Citrus Processors Association and Florida Citrus Mutual.

Current Brix standards for orange juice date back to 1963 when Florida was the dominant supplier of orange juice, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. noted in the draft rule. But for not-from-concentrate juice such measurements are "subject to the vagaries of nature" and with citrus greening disease damaging Florida orange crops, current brix levels are unlikely to "return to levels previously seen," he added.

The change could prevent manufacturers from needing to add imported oranges to orange juice to meet brix standards, according to a press release. 

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“For years, we’ve been wasting beautiful American oranges simply due to an outdated regulation, while relying on a high volume of imports," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in the release. "Under President Trump’s America First Administration, we’re cutting red tape, helping American farmers, and using common sense to reform a broken system. And orange juice will still taste just as good."

In a release, Matt Joyner, the executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, called the proposal "a turning point for Florida's iconic citrus industry."

"This seemingly small regulatory change is a major step forward, helping growers rebuild and sustain fresh from Florida orange juice that families across the nation and the world know and love," Joyner said. 

Public comments on the proposal will be accepted through Nov. 4. 

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