FAQ About Big B's Juices

Do Big B's Products need to be refrigerated?

The only Big B's Product that must be refrigerated is the Cold Pressed Apple Cider.  All other products are shelf stable.  All of our products must be refrigerated after opening.

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How are some of Big B's Products Shelf  Stable?

The products that are shelf stable are thermally pasteurized and immediately hot filled into the bottles. We then use a special foil seal on the cap to prevent any air from entering the bottle.  This minimizes the microbes that typically spoil food from spoiling the juices.  None of our products ever use any preservatives, so the shelf stability and the shelf life of our products is simply due to the process we use to bottle our products.

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What is the shelf life of Big B's Products?

The Cold Pressed Apple Cider has an 18 day shelf life.  All other products have a 12+ month shelf life.

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Are Big B's products pasteurized?

All Big B's products have a "5-log reduction of pathogens" (technically this means pasteurized).  The FDA does not allow any unpasteurized cider to be sold in stores, so any cider purchased will be pasteurized in some form.  For our Cold Pressed Apple Cider, we have chosen the UV filtering because it is the best way to keep the taste and nutrients of raw unpasteurized cider.  For our other products, we use a thermal pasteurization to allow for a longer shelf life.  This allows us to press the apples at the peak of their freshness and sell the juice throughout the year.

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What is UV Filtering?

UV Filtering is the best way to have a "5-log reduction of pathogens" technically pasteurizing the cider.  The UV filtering process is passing the juice in very small tubes pass a UV light.  The UV light eliminates any harmful pathogens, but does not heat up the juice, so the same nutrients and taste of raw unpasteurized juice is maintained.

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Big B's labels say "Freshly Pressed".  What does that mean?

We use only freshly harvested organic apples in our juices.  We never use apple concentrates or apples shipped across the world.  We press the apples in small batches in a squeeze press which allows the most flavor and solids from the apples to remain in the juice.  We keep our juices unfiltered to keep the true apple taste.

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When is Big B's Cold Pressed Cider Available?

Typically our Cold Pressed Cider is available mid-September through January.  Depending on the harvest and the apple availability, these dates can shift a few weeks in either direction.

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Why is Big B's in plastic bottles and not glass?

We have certainly debated the plastic vs. glass issue on a number of occasions.  It was not easy to settle on a clear choice, because both materials have advantages.  Our goal was to select the best, healthiest, and most environmentally friendly choice for our customers.  Ultimately we settled on our HDPE plastic bottles as the best choice for a few reasons... 1) Our bottles are made of HDPE which is BPA free.  2) Because plastic is lighter, the carbon footprint to move a load of bottles is significantly reduced.  We would only be able to ship 75% of a load if we used glass bottles, that means that that for every 4 truckloads we ship we are in essence saving an entire truckload of carbon emissions.  3) HDPE holds up really well at all temperatures and is highly resistant to chemicals, so it does not affect the product taste or quality.  4) HDPE is recyclable in almost all municipalities.

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Do you have product images I can use for my store or restaurant?

Of course! 

Here is a link to a folder with all of our images in 1100 x 1100 format great for toast app, etc. -   1100x1100

Here is a link to a folder with all of our images 1100px tall and cropped closely - 1100 px tall