S1251-119

Introduced

To modify the minimum required weight of orange juice soluble solids.

119th Congress Introduced Apr 2, 2025

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill raises the federal quality standard for pasteurized orange juice by requiring it to contain at least 10.0% orange juice soluble solids by weight. It modifies an existing FDA regulation (21 CFR 146.140) that governs what can legally be sold as "orange juice" in the United States. The change takes effect immediately when the bill becomes law.

Who Benefits and How

Domestic orange juice producers, particularly Florida citrus growers and premium juice brands that make "not from concentrate" products, benefit from this bill. These producers already make higher-quality juice that meets or exceeds the 10.0% standard, so they face no new costs. Instead, they gain a competitive advantage because the higher standard makes it harder for foreign competitors and budget brands to undercut them on price with lower-quality, more diluted products. This effectively creates a trade barrier that protects the domestic orange juice industry.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Foreign orange juice producers, especially those in Brazil and Mexico who export concentrate to the U.S., face higher compliance costs as they must reformulate their products to meet the stricter standard or lose access to the American market. Budget orange juice brands that currently sell more diluted products will either need to increase the amount of actual orange juice in their products (raising production costs) or exit the market entirely. Low-income consumers and price-conscious shoppers bear indirect costs through higher prices and fewer budget options at the grocery store.

Key Provisions

  • Sets a mandatory minimum of 10.0% orange juice soluble solids by weight for all pasteurized orange juice sold in the U.S.
  • Amends the existing FDA standard of identity in 21 CFR 146.140
  • Takes effect immediately upon enactment
  • Excludes sweetener solids from the calculation (only counts actual orange juice content)
  • Preserves the FDA'''s authority to further amend the standard in the future through normal regulatory processes

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Increases the minimum orange juice soluble solids requirement for pasteurized orange juice from current standards to 10.0% by weight.

Who Benefits

  • Domestic orange juice producers
  • Florida citrus growers
  • Premium juice manufacturers

Who Bears Costs

  • Importers of diluted orange juice concentrate
  • Foreign orange juice producers
  • Budget juice brands

Key Policy Areas

Food Safety And Standards, Agriculture, Trade

Primary Purpose

Increases the minimum orange juice soluble solids requirement for pasteurized orange juice from current standards to 10.0% by weight.

Policy Domains

Food Safety And Standards Agriculture Trade

Legislative Strategy

"Create a higher quality standard for orange juice to protect domestic producers who make higher-quality product, effectively creating a trade barrier against lower-quality imports"

Identified Gains

  • Domestic orange juice producers
  • Florida citrus growers
  • Premium juice manufacturers

Identified Costs

  • Importers of diluted orange juice concentrate
  • Foreign orange juice producers
  • Budget juice brands
  • Consumers seeking lower-cost options

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Apr 2, 2025

Mrs. Moody (for herself and Mr. Scott of Florida) introduced …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Food & Beverage
3 mentions across 1 clause
+1 positive -2 negative

Budget orange juice brands producing diluted concentrate products, Domestic premium orange juice producers (Florida citrus growers, not-from-concentrate brands), Foreign orange juice concentrate producers and importers (primarily Brazil and Mexico)

Positive-direction: Domestic premium orange juice producers (Florida citrus growers, not-from-concentrate brands)

Negative-direction: Budget orange juice brands producing diluted concentrate products, Foreign orange juice concentrate producers and importers (primarily Brazil and Mexico)

Consumers
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Low-income consumers and budget-conscious households

1/2
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Food Safety And Standards Agriculture
Actor Mappings
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of Health and Human Services

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

1 term
"standard of identity for pasteurized orange juice" §2

The existing federal standard established in 21 CFR 146.140, which this bill modifies to require not less than 10.0% orange juice soluble solids by weight

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology