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Organic
Retail Packaging

Retail Packaging Statement 2025

SOGA Organic is the only certified organic citrus processor in South Africa. We only process fruit from the four SOGA Growers to ensure the best quality and integrity for all our products. All four growers farm in South Africa along the fertile Sundays River Valley, near the Addo Elephant National Park.

One of our core values that made us farm organically, is our drive to produce fruit on a sustainable basis. We are developing a farming system that is robust, and where the quality of our soils improves every year. We are acutely aware of the need to farm in harmony with nature, and to always put back into our environment more than what we take out.
Quality and food safety are very important at SOGA Organic to ensure the best quality and integrity of all our products. We grow, produce and package all our retail products ourselves and all packaging materials are only sourced from approved suppliers.

Citrus Processing Plant Accreditations:

  • Certified Organic by Control Union – EU and NOP
  • BRCGS (Brand Reputable Compliance Global Standards)
  • PPECB (Perishable Products Export Control Board)

In the development of our retail product range, we were acutely aware of the impact on the environment. However, finding any alternative to plastic is a challenge. Being frozen citrus juice products, we had no option but to make some compromises. Metal and glass bottles were both problematic when it came to freezing, and freezing our product is critical in our process as it obviates the need to add any preservatives. HDPE, LDPE and PP are all opaque, and we needed a clear bottle. We were left with only one option, Polyethylene terephthalate or PET as it is commonly known.

Biological, biochemical and chemical reactivity are dramatically influenced by temperature, and whereas there might be low amounts of leaching at high temperatures, this would be negligible at minus 18° Celsius, the temperature at which our products are stored and distributed.
Many beverages, food items and other consumer products are delivered in bottles or packages made from PET. The #1 code is usually found on or near the bottom of the container. Manufacturers like it because it is safe, strong, transparent and versatile. Customers choose it for its safety, light weight, re-sealability, shatter-resistance and recyclability. Up to 100% of a PET package can be made from recycled PET, and the material can be recycled again and again. It is used to make new bottles, but recycled PET can also be made into fiber for carpets; fabric for tshirts or fleece jackets; fiberfill for sleeping bags, winter coats, and dog beds; industrial strapping; sheet and thermoformed (clam shell) packaging; and automotive parts such as headliners, bumpers, and door panels.
We urge all our customers who buy our 250ml Certified Organic Frozen Citrus Juices (Orange/Ruby Grapefruit/Lemon/Lime and Naartjie) and 1 L Frozen Orange Juice in PET Bottles with 38mm HDPE/LDPE caps, to please always RE-USE and RECYCLE.

The 500ml Frozen Orange Juice is now available in Bio-PET. Standard PET has mono ethylene glycol made from petroleum (fossil fuel). In the case of Bio-PET, the mono ethylene glycol is made entirely from plants – usually sugarcane. The chemical formula of Bio-PET is identical to that of standard PET, so the characteristics are the same and as per our other bottled juices it also has a 24 month Best Before Date. Bio-PET can be recycled with PET and the food grade 28mm HDPE caps are also fully recyclable.

Our Certified Organic Frozen Lemon juice is available in 10ml form-fill-and-seal sachets and sold 24 x 10ml units in a re-sealable ziplock pouch or in 250ml PET Bottle with polyprop flip-top cap, for regular use. The convenient “ice-cube size” sachet of pure certified organic lemon juice to spruce up your salad, sauces or pop into your hot water or tea in the morning, is still a first in South Africa. We attended several packaging expo’s, did months of research and testing to try and find innovative and green packaging alternatives to produce this unique little wonder… Recyclable trays turned out “impossible” to use for liquids, so again we had to turn to plastic. Since launching
this product, the plastic used in producing the sachets have been reduced by 50%.

Finding suitable packaging for our 100ml Certified Organic Frozen Orange® Rocket, was quite a challenge. After months of searching for a local supplier of Tetrapak or cardboard squeeze tubes/squeezers, we eventually had to turn to Europe. Innova Supply & Services GMBH in
Germany is a leader in product ideas, packaging, marketing and distribution, HACCP and ISO 9000 as well as BRC certifications aren’t just slogans, they are basic prerequisites! The company’s thinking and behaviour is determined by continuity, independence and sustainable growth and they accommodate small companies like SOGA Organic. The material used is Food grade approved cupforma classic board coated outside and inside (DPE) with polyethylene. The squeeze tubes are 100% recyclable. The 10 x 100ml Orange Rocket® Multipack box is made
locally from polyboard. an environmentally friendly product made from hygienic industrial and commercial waste that can be constantly reused and recycled.

All outer cartons used for bulk packaging of our retail products are manufactured with recycled fluting and liner paper.

All SOGA Organic retail products only have ONE INGREDIENT – The product is the ingredient and the only ingredient is the product. Certified Organic Citrus Juice – Just squeezed & freezed®

  • No pesticide residues (Glyphosate FREE)
  • No preservatives
  • No additives
  • No colouring or flavouring
  • No sugar added
  • No water added
  • Not-from-concentrate (NFC)

The development of 100% recyclable or bio-degradable food-safe containers that can withstand very low temperatures for long periods, is a challenge. However, we are always looking for new and improved packaging to be gentler on the environment.