Ocean Spray Invests In Cranberry Research

by Jennifer Smith November 14, 2017

LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass., Nov. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- It's amazing what a little cran can do™, and for close to 90 years, Ocean Spray Cranberries has been unlocking the cranberry's unique health benefits through research and product development. This week the grower-owned cooperative announced that it will invest more than $10 million over the next five years to research the cranberry's antimicrobial benefits, including the role it might play in helping to combat one of the greatest challenges to public health today: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).In addition to its research commitment, Ocean Spray will launch the Ocean Spray Cranberry Health Institute in 2018.

"Ocean Spray is dedicated to finding ways to use cranberries to not only keep you healthy but also to potentially address global health issues," said Randy Papadellis, president and chief executive officer of Ocean Spray. "With antibiotic resistance on track to kill more people than cancer, the World Health Organization has called on government sectors and society to take action on this serious threat to global public health. We want to be sure that Ocean Spray does our part to look at all the components of this one-of-a-kind fruit and how it can contribute to whole-body health."

Through comprehensive health research, Ocean Spray has long ensured that it delivers products that taste good and are good for you. Its Cranberry +health™ juice drink product formula, for example, has been clinically proven to reduce recurrent symptomatic UTIs. It contains the highest concentration of cranberry compounds available among Ocean Spray® juice products on the market. Besides helping consumers meet their recommended daily intake of fruit, cranberries may reduce the occurrence of certain infections in the urinary tract and stomach, as more than 50 years of well-documented research has shown. This is increasingly important, as scientists around the world explore alternative strategies to antibiotics, including nutritional approaches to prevent infections.

"One of the best ways to avoid antibiotic use is by preventing the infections that are no longer responding consistently to them," says Dr. Jennifer Berman, an author, educator and urological surgeon. "Research shows that a glass of cranberry juice daily can reduce symptomatic urinary tract infections. This is simple but powerful information. On its own, it may be a useful strategy to decrease the worldwide use of antibiotics. But with Ocean Spray's announcement today, the company has signaled its intent to wring out every last drop of goodness from these berries."

The bacteria that causes many common infections is growing increasingly resistant to the strongest antibiotics used to treat them, which means UTIs could become deadly in the coming decades. Experts estimate that AMR will be to blame for 10 million deaths globally by 2050. By comparison, that is more than the 8.2 million individuals who die of cancer each year, according to the Review on Antibiotic Resistance 2014.To combat the problem, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established a goal to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use by 50 percent in the next three years.

Re-posted from Yahoo Finance. From PRNewswire.