Orchards Crossing Oceans

Three Things You Didn’t Know About Orange Juice Supply Chains

A article on orange juice tankers reminded me that even products we view as basic household items rely on sensitive supply chain dynamics and complex transportation logistics as they make their way into our refrigerators. The orange juice article was particularly fun to read since we tend to conjure up images of fresh squeezed fruit from not too far down the road. Only, most of us don’t live anywhere near an orange grove. So how exactly do we get to enjoy it just about anytime we want?

California, Florida, and Texas all grow oranges and once upon a time your breakfast beverage did come from your southern state neighbors.  Production has dropped significantly in recent years. You might not have noticed because it’s easy to find the names we know so well like OceanSpray, Tropicana, and Minute Maid exactly where they have always been at your local supermarket.  Prior to 2000 the U.S. produced roughly 300 million boxes of oranges annually. As of 2023 that number has decreased to 64 million boxes. Today the bulk of our oranges and orange products come from Brazil, Chile and Mexico. 

If we stop for two minutes to think about it, we know oranges aren’t squeezed directly into the bottle sitting in our refrigerators but, like me, you might not have given its journey extensive thought. Here’s a few facts that will make you enjoy that breakfast beverage a little more.

One: There are Tanker Ships Just for Juice

Interestingly, North America and Europe consume more orange juice than the South American countries that grow the citrus fruit. For an industry that has battled severe weather and disease for the last several years, ensuring juice makes it safely across the ocean to waiting consumers is essential.

Oranges are typically juiced then frozen or converted into a concentrate in their country of origin. But, it’s not bottled there. The juice is loaded on a tanker ship and transported across the sea. Bulk shipping of liquids, especially liquids intended for human consumption, is no easy feat. Entire ships have been designed for the purpose of transporting liquid commodities and orange juice is no exception.

The MV Carlos Fischer carries 37,000 tons of juice and nothing else from Brazil up to the Netherlands and Japan. Brazil’s own orange juice industry made the investment in the tanker ship adding another layer of efficiency to their supply chain and securing their hold on a large portion of the industry. Before 1993 orange juice purchased in the U.S. came from oranges grown here. Today, almost every bottle is a blend of juices from Florida and Brazil.

Two: Sanitation is Taken Seriously

By the time we encounter orange juice it’s been double sealed in an individual container and it's sitting in the monitored refrigeration section of a grocery store. But do you know what it takes to ensure your orange juice is safe to drink? The process of maintaining a sanitary supply chain might surprise you.

As it turns out, it’s far more efficient to transport semi frozen liquids across the ocean than straight liquids or even frozen juice. Aboard the MV Carlos Fischer you’ll find vertical tanks that have been polished down to eliminate pores in the metal which could house bacteria. Each tank has a radar sensor that monitors empty space and auto fills it with nitrogen rather than air which can also transport harmful bacteria. Once the juice has been offloaded at port, the tanker will clean and sterilize itself before taking on another shipment of orange juice.

Three: There Are OJ Pipelines

The other reason you are not likely to find frozen juice aboard the MV Carlos Fischer or other juice tankers is because it has to be moved from large storage tanks onto the ship holds; then from the ship’s tanks back into holding tanks once it makes port. From there it is transported by yet another temperature regulated container that will be recycled after use to manufacturers who bottle it and ship it off to you. 

Believe it or not, the orange juice is kept in a slushy state so that it is easier to pump through a pipeline specifically designed to ensure it doesn’t come into contact with bacteria ridden surfaces. And at its factory destination most facilities use gravity to move the slushy liquid off of tanker trucks and into sterile holding tanks.

In the last decade, billions of dollars have been spent by the orange juice industry to design and construct docking terminals equipped to handle large capacities of juice. Despite obstacles and the compounded pressure from inflation, the juice industry is still planning for expansion in the future.