Camra leads calls to hike minimum juice content requirement for cider and perry

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has urged the government to increase the minimum juice content requirement for cider and perry from 35% to 50%.

The consumer organisation has launched an e-lobbying service so people can lobby their local MP to push for the change. 

Camra said the shift would “put an end to industrial drinks made from as little as 35% juice by global companies”, while also supporting small and independent cidermakers, whose 100% juice content ciders and perries were becoming “increasingly popular and valued with consumers”.

“In the UK, cider and perry can legally consist of 65% alcoholic sugar water,” said Camra chair Gillian Hough. This cheap, sugary mess is added for profit, not quality, and undermines the delicious real cider and perry made by our hard-working independent producers.

“Government raising the minimum juice content to 50% is desperately needed to stop the flood of ‘cidre industrial’, watered down products made by global giants, which confuse consumers into thinking they are enjoying a fruit-led product when in fact it’s water and sugar-led.”

While Camra said it would prefer a minimum juice content of 85%, a move to 50% would bring the UK in line with rules in the US and Germany, while also ensuring that no one ingredient would be greater than natural fruit juice.

The EU is also currently considering bringing in a minimum juice requirement under a three-tier classification system that would enable products made from 100% juice to be called ‘premium cider’, with those containing at least 50% juice being labelled as cider. Products with between 20%-50% juice content would have to be described as a ‘cider-based drink’.

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll commissioned by Camra found some 87% of UK consumers favoured raising the minimum juice content of cider to help halt the decline of orchards.

“Fifty per cent minimum juice content for UK cider and perry needs to be legislated as soon as possible,” said Hough. “I urge everyone – beer drinkers, cider and perry lovers and orchard fans – across the UK to take part in our e-lobby and email their local MP.”