Next time you pour yourself a glass of orange juice at breakfast, you're technically drinking alcohol. Don't worry—you won't get drunk, and you won't fail a breathalyzer test. But yes, that innocent carton of OJ does contain trace amounts of ethanol.

The alcohol in orange juice comes from natural fermentation. Once juice is squeezed from oranges, naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria start converting sugars into ethanol. This happens before pasteurization, and it can continue (very slowly) after you open the bottle and expose the juice to airborne microbes.

How Much Alcohol Are We Talking?

Scientific studies have found that commercial orange juice typically contains between 0.02% to 0.09% alcohol by volume (ABV). That translates to roughly 0.16 to 0.73 grams of ethanol per liter, or about 0.18 grams per cup.

For context, beer usually contains 4-6% ABV. You'd need to drink around 50 glasses of orange juice to equal the alcohol in a single beer. The FDA classifies any beverage under 0.5% ABV as non-alcoholic, so OJ is well within that safe zone.

It's Not Just Orange Juice

Most fruit juices contain trace alcohol from the same natural fermentation process:

Apple juice: Similar levels to orange juice
Grape juice: Can reach up to 0.076% ABV in mixed varieties
Berry juices: Usually below detectable limits
Ripe bananas: Can contain up to 0.4% ABV

Even some breads, vinegars, and fermented foods contain comparable or higher amounts of naturally occurring alcohol. It's just part of how organic matter breaks down.

Should You Be Concerned?

Not really. The amount is so negligible that it has zero intoxicating effect. You'd experience severe vitamin C toxicity and digestive distress long before you felt even the slightest buzz.

The one group that might care? People avoiding alcohol for religious or recovery reasons. While mainstream Islamic scholars have debated whether trace amounts in fruit juice are permissible, most agree that naturally occurring ethanol at these levels doesn't violate halal dietary laws since it's unavoidable and has no intoxicating effect.

So go ahead and enjoy your morning OJ. The only thing you'll be drunk on is vitamin C.

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