Juicy vote in the European Parliament

How healthy is the fruit drink you're buying? Would you buy a strawberry juice or smoothie if you knew it consisted mainly of apples? Do you want to know which 'juice' contains additional sugar or sweeteners?

Euro MPs today decided to put in place stricter rules on the composition of fruit juices and better labelling guidelines which will substantially improve the quality of fruit juices available across the EU.

North East Euro MP Fiona Hall commented after the vote in the European Parliament today:

"For many consumers with health issues such as diabetes and allergies it is vitally important to clearly state what has been put in their drinks.

"I am delighted that in the future it will be prohibited to put extra sugar in drinks labelled as fruit juice. And it will no longer be possible to market a product on the basis of only a minor ingredient if the juice is actually made up of a completely different fruit. No more apples disguised as strawberries!"

The new rules will come into force after a transition period of 18 months and will apply to all juice products regardless of whether they are produced in the EU or imported from elsewhere.