NO UNPASTEURIZED JUICE SMOOTHIES IN SCHOOLS

May 30, 2025

Mr. Joseph Levitt, Director
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Food and Drug Administration
200 C Street SW, Room 6815; MS HFS-1
Washington, DC 20204

Dear Director Levitt,

As you are aware, the FDA has stated that children should not drink unpasteurized juices. For some time, S.T.O.P. has been concerned that this FDA advisory has been insufficiently broadcast. It has now come to our attention that a national chain of juice bar storefronts serving unpasteurized juices may be developing relationships with elementary schools to distribute smoothies made of unpasteurized juice on campuses.

Jamba Juice, with 145+ storefronts in 24 states, makes smoothies out of "freshly-squeezed" lemon juice, carrot juice, orange juice, and wheatgrass juice. Because the business is operated at retail, and the juices -- sold in sizes as large as 32 ounces-- are considered sold "by the glass," Jamba Juice remains unregulated by the current FDA juice HACCP and juice labeling rules. The company markets its products at its website, www.jambajuice.com, as:

"An extraordinary health experience unlike any you've ever tasted,
Jamba serves up delicious, nutritious, convenient meals filled with
enticing fruit and vegetable flavors, vital nutrients and total convenience:
everything you need to live an active, healthy life."

In the last week, S.T.O.P. has learned that Jamba Juice is collaborating with elementary school students on fundraising by having student council students pre-sell Jamba Juice smoothies to other children; the company intended to then supply the smoothies at a later date. Another elementary school has surveyed its parents as to their interest in a combined Jamba Juice/bagel lunch day as part of the school lunch program.

S.T.O.P. acknowledges that FDA has yet to identify illnesses arising from this type of retail operation. However, since1989 there have been five major outbreaks and a recall caused by unpasteurized orange juice. In the largest U.S. outbreak of any unpasteurized juice to date, bulk, unpasteurized orange juice sickened a reported 423 people and killed one man; smoothies were a vehicle in that outbreak. In two of these orange juice outbreaks, the juice was squeezed on site. A third outbreak took place at DisneyWorld. As an at-risk group, children have suffered disproportionately in the twelve U.S. unpasteurized juice outbreaks that have occurred since 1989.

S.T.O.P. strongly believes that FDA has an obligation to protect at-risk consumers, particularly children whose parents have not been adequately informed of the hazards of unpasteurized juice. We believe that current Model Food Code advises that unpasteurized juice not be distributed to at-risk groups in hospitals and nursing homes, and children represent a similar at-risk group. We are therefore asking FDA to take the following actions:

1. Contact Jamba Juice and inform the company directly that FDA does not believe that children should drink unpasteurized juices. Advise Jamba Juice that FDA would prefer that juice bar retailers not market on or distribute to school campuses, whether invited as part of a fundraiser or not, at the very least until such time as FDA has addressed serving unpasteurized juices at elementary schools through the Model Food Code.
   
2. Notify the National Parent Teacher Association that the FDA advises that children should not drink unpasteurized juices, and that their members should not allow unpasteurized juices to be served to students as part of school-related activities.
   
3. Require that food companies negotiating contracts with school-related organizations -- such as school lunch programs, student councils, Girl and Boy Scouts, and others ­ disclose to those entities in advance when the food category, e.g. unpasteurized juice, does not meet FDA's current minimal processing recommendations for children.
   
4. Put in place regulations that prohibit the marketing and distribution of unpasteurized juices on school campuses.
   
5. Introduce appropriate signage and labeling rules for retail establishments that warn consumers of the risk of unpasteurized juices to the at-risk groups at the point of sale.

We look forward to hearing of immediate progress on these points.

Sincerely,

Laurie Girand
Mother of Anna
Co-President
Board Member

cc:

Stu Richardson; Chief, Food and Drug Branch, CA Dept. of Health Services
Paul Clayton, President and C.E.O., Jamba Juice
Virginia Markell, National PTA President