The press release explains that three wording options have been authorized, including: “Limited scientific evidence shows that by consuming 500 mg each day of cranberry dietary supplement, healthy women who have had a urinary tract infection (UTI) may reduce their risk of recurrent UTI.”
“Fruit d’Or, a farm-to-finish company, is one of the primary beneficiaries of this great news. More companies are calling us looking to formulate with whole fruit cranberry powder because no one else has our level of expertise,” said Jean Leclerc, Director of Sales and Business Development for Fruit d’Or, in the press release. “With this ruling, the FDA is raising the bar by recognizing whole fruit powder for both its soluble and insoluble proanthocyanins (PACs). We’ve done all the heavy lifting in this area, and companies are eager to learn how these soluble and insoluble PACs work together.”
Leclerc also suggested in the press release that, for some, use of this claim will require reformulation: “The FDA’s qualified health claim is confirmation that not all cranberry is the same. It’s not the components of the fruit … it’s not just the juice … it’s the whole fruit. And products must have a 500 mg daily dose of actual cranberry to make this claim. A sprinkle of cranberry does not constitute efficacy. All companies will need to revise their formulations and decide if they want to participate in this claim. We have always believed in the whole spectrum of the cranberry. This is what drove Fruit d’Or to set the industry standards for proper cultivation and handling processes, and to pioneer proper fingerprinting to ensure that formulas contain actual cranberry.”
Related: Artemis Signs Distribution Agreement with Fruit d’Or Herb of the Month: Cranberry Validated Test for Quantifying Insoluble PACs in Cranberries Published
Fruit d’Or will be doing more consumer education regarding how to identify whole fruit supplements with demonstrated efficacy: Fruit d’Or Business Manager and Lead Consultant Stephan Lukawski notes that consumers will need to look for a minimum of 500mg on the labels of their cranberry supplements, and he intends to “reinforce the truth that a cranberry supplement should have the same color and taste as the fruit.”Fruit d’Or is having its organic Cran Naturelle and conventional Cran d’Or tested by a team at Rutgers University for anti-adhesion activity, which inhibitsE. coli’sability to adhere to epithelial cells in the urinary tract. The press release notes that this will help further advance cranberry research and science by relating structure to function.
