User:Citrus-Juice-Educator/Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company

Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company is a citrus juice processor located in Fort Pierce, Florida, in the heart of the world renowned Indian River Citrus District. The company was founded in 1989 by Marygrace Sexton and her husband, Robert Sexton, a fourth generation citrus grower. Initially, the company made only FRESH SQUEEZED, unpasteurized, orange and grapefruit juice from the fruit grown in the Sexton groves. However, the company quickly grew beyond the family's capacity to supply fruit. To this day, the family owned and operated company uses only the highest quality Florida grown citrus purchased from Florida farmers throughout the state to make its orange, grapefruit and tangerine juices.

Florida oranges are different than oranges grown in other parts of the world, due in part to the humid climate of the region and the sandy soil. Florida oranges are thin-skinned and 25% heavier with sugar solids in contrast to the California orange, for instance, which is a desert fruit with a thicker skin and less juice. The California orange is perfect for eating compared to the Florida orange, which is almost impossible to peel and is messy. However, when it comes to juicing, Florida oranges rival the best in the world.

Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company uses several varietals of citrus to make FRESH SQUEEZED juice year round. The Valencia Orange, which has a full bodied sweet flavor and a robust orange color, is harvested in the late season March - October. At the peak of its season, the fruit is cleaned, waxed and put into a cold storage facilty. The Valencia orange is used as a stand-alone orange juice at certain times of the year, as well as blended into other varietals to maintain flavor consistency throughout the year. The Hamlin Orange ,commonly referred to as early season fruit, is harvested October - December; the Pineapple Orange, or midseason fruit, is harvested December through March.

Florida citrus juice is one of the most regulated food industries in the world. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services conducts daily inspections to verify the incoming fruit meets specific standards agreed upon by the government agency and the Florida Department of Citrus. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)conducts daily inspections of the final quality of the juice and verifies Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are maintained. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducts regular inspections to verify its food safety program, HAACP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point), a science based system that identifies and integrates preventative controls to prevent the occurrence of unwholesome product, is meticulously maintained. In 1998, Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company was named the FDA's Juice HAACP Pilot plant.

In addition to mandatory inspections, Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Comnpany has voluntarily been certified by third party agencies to ensure it continues to be a world leader in the production of high quality citrus juice. In 2010, Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company achieved Level II SQF (Safe Quality Food) certification as part of the Global Food Safety Intitiative (GFSI). SQF is the American Branch of the program, providing comprehensive criteria and rigourous assessment to ensure certified companies around the world deliver the highest level of safety and quality standard foods.

Finally, Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company products maintain OU certification by the Orthodox Jewish Council. For over 80 years, the Orthodox Union has maintained the highest standard of Kosher supervision. Today, the OU logo is a hallmark of quality and dedication, with more than 660,000 products carrying this trusted symbol.

FRESH SQUEEZED CITRUS JUICE is the last bastion of fresh squeezed juice in the United States. All other juices by law are required to be pasteurized for interstate commerce. The regulations are so stringent and the liability so great that consequently there are relatively few FRESH SQUEEZED CITRUS JUICE companies left in America. However, the few holdouts that believe fresh food provides optimum nutrition have defended the word "FRESH," which is defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration as meaning "no processing". Some food industries, such as the US dairy industry, in which government regulations no longer permit the sale of unprocessed foods, have adopted the word "fresh," even though there is a high level of processing (i.e. pasteurization, homogenization).

In 1999, executives from Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company appeared before congress to defend the use of "FRESH" against companies that make pasteurized and concentrated juices. These companies, mostly conglomerates, many of them importing highly processed orange juice in million gallon tankers from Brazil, recognized the marketing appeal "FRESH" has to consumers. Congress upheld the protected use of the word for non-dairy beverages to mean "unprocessed."

In 2005, Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company introduced a new line of Gourmet Pasteurized citrus juices. Unlike most citrus juice companies that pasteurize their juice at high heats, often multiple times and store it for years, Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company designed a delicate pasteurization process which meets the minimum requirements set forth by the FDA regarding pasteurization. The juice is squeezed fresh daily, heated to 170° for 2-8 seconds, and them immediately chilled for bottling. Pasteurization kills any potential microorganisms that may be present in the juice Pasteurization. The Gourmet Pasteurization process enables the juice to maintain much of its nutritional integrity while providing an alternative for consumers and retailers who feel more comfortable with a pasteurized product.

Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company's Gourmet Pasteurized Orange Juice so closely resembles its Fresh Squeezed Juice, it has won five national taste tests. In 2008, the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine (April 2008)and America's Test Kitchen named the Natalie's brand orange juice as "best tasting" over all other premium brands tested. Later in 2008, NBC's TODAY Show invited Cook's Illustrated to conduct a blind orange juice taste test on live television, in which weekend anchor Lester Holt again chose the Natalie's brand as the "best tasting." In 2009, editors from Real Simple magazine (May 2009) recognized Natalie's superior taste over other brands. And in 2010, Good Housekeeping magzine (June 2010) selected Natalie's brand over 12 major brand labels of orange juice.

Over the years, the family owned and operated company has expanded its product offering to include Honey Tangerine Juice, Lemon and Lime Juice, Just Pik't Fresh Squeeze/Flash Frozen Orange and Grapefruit Juices, a PULP FREE Orange Juice, a line of lemonades named after Natalie's little sister, Lucy, and a series of all natural Juice Blends.

Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company products are available under the company's brand name and under various private labels.