Pomegranate juice: why 242 g per cup is wrong
Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5 publishes 242 g (8.5 oz) per US cup of pomegranate juice. This site rejects that figure and publishes 249 g (8.8 oz) instead, from USDA SR Legacy "Pomegranate juice, bottled" (FDC 167787) (density 1.0525 g/mL, matching the composition of the substance). The reason:
Pomegranate juice measures about 15 to 16 °Brix (Vegara et al. measured 15.15 to 15.71 across 18 industrial juices, and the FDA's minimum for 100% juice from concentrate is 16.0), which weighs 1.06 g/mL. 1.024 g/mL is the density of a juice of about 6% sugar; whole-gram rounding on 125 mL still leaves it at 1.020 to 1.028. USDA weighs a cup at 249 g. The same Health Canada table agrees with USDA for grape, pineapple and prune juice, so the error is particular to this row.
The arithmetic
| Source | 1 cup | Density | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5 | 242 g8.5 oz | 1.024 g/mL | Rejected on physics |
| USDA SR Legacy "Pomegranate juice, bottled" (FDC 167787) | 249 g8.8 oz | 1.0525 g/mL | Published here |
The published figure and its sources
The full sourcing for pomegranate juice, including every accepted and rejected figure, the state or filling method behind each, and the physics or standards reasoning applied, is on the ingredient page.
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