Ingredients/Manufacturing FAQ

David Schleider, who spent three years creating and perfecting True Lemon, is a chef by training and a long time lemon-lover. However, David found that he was often frustrated with lemons: they are inconsistent in taste, messy to use, spoil easy, and inconvenient. And from a chef's point of view, they are labor-intensive and David often wanted the taste of fresh lemons without adding unnecessary liquid.

David believed other people had to be equally frustrated with lemons and he believed he could do what no one else had done up to that point: find a way to duplicate authentic, fresh-squeezed lemon taste but in a crystallized, shelf-stable manner that was convenient to use any time, anywhere. And, after a lot of hard work and long nights, David did just that.

We think if you try True Lemon, you'll taste for yourself why True Lemon is a fabulous alternative to fresh lemons.

All True products are 100% natural with no artificial ingredients or sweeteners, preservatives,sodium or gluten. To view the nutritional information of all True products, click here (http://www.truelemon.com/cooking5.cfm)

True Lemon's ingredients are the same as found in a lemon: Citric Acid, Lemon Juice, Lemon Oil and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). To view the ingredients of all True products, click here (http://www.truelemon.com/cooking5.cfm).

True Lemon has the same properties as a fresh lemon because True Lemon is made from fresh lemon juices and oils. True Lemon behaves almost identically to fresh lemon juice when using in water, drinks, beverages and when using in recipes.

Our ingredient lines are slightly different because the 20 count boxes are primarily for water, teas and beverages and need to dissolve differently than the 32 count, which can also be used for baking and seasoning. The evaporated cane juice is used as a bulking agent but it doesn't add any sweetness (and is equal to the amount of naturally occurring fructose found in a wedge of fresh lemon). Because there is such a small amount of evaporated cane juice in each True Lemon, True Lime or True Orange packet, the FDA still considers it to be an unsweetened product with 0 calories and 0g carbs.

True Lemon starts in the grove with fresh lemons selected for their superior flavor. We then cold-press and crystallize the lemons which locks in their flavor at the peak of freshness. Because of this, we believe True Lemon tastes better than any lemon you can find in the store: fresh, frozen or juice.

"Cold-pressed" means the lemons were pressed without using heat so the optimal flavor would be maintained. "Crystallized" means the lemon oils and juices that are extracted during the cold-pressing process are then crystallized to capture their taste at the peak of freshness.

Stevia is a herb that has been used as a sweetener around the world for hundreds of years. Stevia was approved by the FDA to be used as a sweetener in 2008 and now is sold under the name brand Truvia, Pure Circle and PureVia, among others.

Stevia is 100% natural and has zero-calories. Because of our commitment to make only 100% all-natural products, we were delighted when Stevia received GRAS status (Generally Recognized As Safe) from the FDA so we could offer a low-calorie, all-natural lemonade.

A packet of True Lemon, True Lime or True Orange has 0 calories. A serving of True Lemon-ade and True Lemon-ade with Raspberry has 5 calories per serving.

A packet of True Lemon, True Lime or True Orange has less than 1 gram of carbohydrates per packet. Therefore, four packets of True Lemon a day would equal less than 3 grams of carbohydrates.

All of our True products are gluten free and, in fact, many support groups for those with Celiac disease use True products regularly.

The citric acid is from made from corn.

No, True products don't contain any mono-sodium glutamate or glutamic acid.

A serving of True Lemon, True Lime or True Orange contains less than 0.25 milligrams of potassium, so a very small amount.

Ascorbic acid is Vitamin C. Every serving of True products have 25% of an adult's daily Vitamin C requirements.

A super tiny amount of soy lecithin is used during our crystallization process. The FDA requirements are that even in such a tiny amount soy has to be declared. To put it in perspective you would need to consume about 700 packets of True Lemon to equal 1 gram of soy.

We only use Stevia which is guaranteed a minimum of 95% pure, which is some of the highest in the industry. In addition, we only purchase our Rebiana from reputable companies who do not utilize chemicals in their extraction or refinement of their Stevia; only water-based extraction methods which is both safer for the customer as well as our environment. We’re not only committed to the health and well-being of our customers, we’re also in tune with our delicate eco-system.

The Maltodextrin we use is solely derived from corn and is not used as either a filler or sweetener. Its only purpose is to help our flavor components disperse better when cooking, baking or seasoning. Without it, the consumer will get big hits of lemon oil with pockets of acid instead of a homogenous product throughout.