‘Why so different?’: Woolies clears up confusion over popular drink

An image of two bottles of a popular drink from one of Australia’s biggest supermarkets has left customers stumped.

An image of two bottles of a popular drink from one of Australia’s biggest supermarkets has left customers stumped.

A social media user shared a snap of a two-litre bottle of Woolworths’ 99 per cent fruit juice in the Apple and Mango flavour. One bottle had a more red tone, while the other was bright yellow.

“Why so different? Not expired. I’ve noticed this a few times when purchasing this juice. Purchased from the same store,” the Reddit user captioned the image.

Many social media users speculated on the reasoning behind this.

A Reddit user has pointed out an inconsistency in a popular Woolies item. Picture: Reddit

“Could it be the difference in using green (cloudy apple juice) in the lighter one and other red apples in the darker one? It might not taste different because of the mango and sugar,” one asked.

Another said: “Flip it around and read the label? Quite a few Woolworths products have two suppliers or are from two different countries so look or taste different from each other. This could be one of those cases?”

“I buy the exact same one and I’ve noticed the same thing,” one person commented on the thread.

One said: “Oxidation of the concentrate. Phenolics break down and create the brown pigment. Which is better? Well that vibrant orange hue on the second bottle is created with extra colouring additives, so much of a muchness”

But others guessed that it was a sign that it was indeed real fruit used in the product.

“Think about how many different types of apples there are, and how many different types of mangoes there are,” one said.

Another commented: “I find the fact the colour varies reassuring if anything. Makes me believe there’s less shenanigans going on with the processing.”

“I’ve noticed this in the produce section also. Some time ‘apples’ are green, sometimes golden, sometimes red. And sometimes these ‘apples’ are more than one colour. It’s like they are not controlled with so much variation,” one commented.

Woolworths cleared up the confusion. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Another said: “As someone who makes soft drinks and juices for a living, you’d be surprised with the amount of colour variation in drinks that don’t even have any natural product in them at all.”

A Woolworths spokesperson has confirmed that it does all come down to the fruit used in the juice.

“Just as seasonal variation can cause fruit itself to vary in colour, it can also cause variation in fruit juice concentrate,” the spokesperson said.

News.com.au understands its not an uncommon occurrence, with both juices meeting the brand’s strict quality specifications.

Originally published as ‘Why so different?’: Woolies clears up confusion over popular drink