Pulp content is the proportion of insoluble fruit particles suspended in a juice or nectar, measured by centrifugation, and is specified to control body, appearance and consistency in cloudy or pulpy products.
In trade practice
Processors control pulp content through sieving and refining stages during juice production, adjusting screen aperture size to hit the target range. QA teams verify the figure by centrifuge test on finished product before filling. Buyers of cloudy apple or cherry juice should state the accepted pulp level in the purchase specification, as suppliers may otherwise default to their own standard. A common mistake is failing to re-test after blending concentrates with water, which can shift the result.
In a specification
A purchase specification typically states pulp content as a maximum or target percentage by volume, determined by centrifugation at a defined speed and duration, with reference to the applicable Codex or national juice standard.