Is 35% concentrate enough for a product
to be called 'cider'?

07/01/14

Currently, any product that can prove it contains 35% apple juice can describe itself as cider. There has to be no specification as to what varieties of apples were used, whether they are in the form of concentrate or where they came from.

Surely, cider has to be made from genuine cider apples and any attempt to use water and sugar to ‘stretch’ the juice is just cheating!

There is obviously a market for carbonated ‘cider’ made from sugar, concentrate and water but should those products be allowed to describe themselves as cider? Or should they have to think of a different name?

Some of these products are better than others but there is currently a fight for market share over who is prepared to use slightly more juice to make the product that grabs the biggest market share.

It’s only a matter of time before one of them hits on the novel idea of using cider apple juice!

Molson Coors told the Advertising Standards Agency last month that their ‘Carling British Cider’ did not have to contain any British apples at all because their imported concentrate was ‘last treated in the UK’ … and apparently that’s OK with the ASA!

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