LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass., June 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- For over 50 years, Ocean Spray has tested and touted the unique health properties of their exceptional fruit. 

While cranberry research continues, Ocean Spray is going a step further by providing a product that is helping to transform healthcare. 

Ocean Spray's new Cranberry +health™ Juice Drink is a superfruit beverage of sorts, containing the highest concentration of cranberry compounds available among Ocean Spray® juice products on the market today. Eight ounces (240 mL) a day of the Cranberry +health™ juice drink formula provides on average 120 mg of proanthocyanidins (PACs) and has only 6 g of sugar and 35 calories.

Developed with healthcare in mind, the Cranberry +health™ Juice Drink formula is clinically proven to reduce the recurrence, of symptomatic UTIs in women by almost 40%.[1]  That is because cranberries have a unique combination of compounds that can be an effective method in preventing UTIs through their unique ability to block the bacteria that cause them. UTIs are one of the largest health care concerns of our time with their treatment linked to growing antibiotic resistance.  They affect millions of people each year, ranking as the fourth most common type of infection.[2]  This is increasingly important, as scientists around the world explore alternative strategies to antibiotics, including nutritional approaches to prevent infections.

"Cranberry +health™ Juice Drink was the first step in our most recent commitment in researching this one-of-a-kind fruit and how it can contribute to whole-body health," said Clark Reinhard, Vice President, Innovation and Marketing Strategy.  "With the 2018 launch of our new Cranberry Health Institute, we've committed to further exploration into the cranberry's potential role in helping to address global health issues."

The Proof is in the Patients 
The stats are staggering, with UTIs  remaining problematic for both acute and long term care facilities.    

Ocean Spray's Cranberry +health™ juice drink provides a juicy proposition for longterm care facilities and their patients: an economical, effective way to stave off recurrent UTIs.  In fact, positive results are being reported in facilities that have begun serving Cranberry +health™ juice drink to their patients: 

"Since serving 8oz of Cranberry +health™ per day my patients with reoccurring UTIs were reduced from 12 per month to 2 per month (that is an 83% reduction). The patients like the taste, the dieticians like the low sugar content. Additionally, we found that antibiotics greatly reduce a resident's appetite and with fewer antibiotics prescribed, the resident has maintained appetite and weight." — Skilled Nursing, Venice, FL

"Cranberry +health™ juice or 'Super Cran' juice, as we call it, has really made a difference in the health of our residents. We have several that have had a history of UTIs, so on our hydration carts I put several boxes. I recently asked our DON if the 'Super Cran' has helped lessen the re-occurrence of UTI's in our chronic residents and she said YES!"  — Skilled Nursing, Arlington, TX

"This is a great cost effective way to assist in managing UTI's.  Since we began using this product, we no longer use any other Cranberry Juice Product and have seen a significant decline in our usage of Prophylactic Antibiotics. Overall, we are very pleased with the use of this product." — Dietary Manager, Auburn, AL

With these and other exciting results, Universal Health Care, a private medical provider, has joined in and will begin serving it in 26 of their acute healthcare facilities this summer. Ocean Spray® Cranberry +health™ juice drink is available in 4.2 ounce Tetra Juice Boxes and 60 ounce bottles, and is exclusively for hospitals, long-term/managed care facilities and retirement homes.To learn more about Cranberry +health™ juice drink, or for assistance in placing an order, contact an Ocean Spray foodservice sales representative or call us at 1-800-662-3263.

About Ocean Spray
Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. Formed in 1930, Ocean Spray is now the world's leading producer of cranberry juices, juice drinks and dried cranberries and is the best-selling brand in the North American bottled juice category.

The Cooperative's cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, good-for-you products in over 100 countries worldwide. With more than 2,000 employees and nearly 20 cranberry receiving and processing facilities, Ocean Spray is committed to managing our business in a way that respects our communities, employees and the environment. For more information visit: www.oceanspray.com or www.oceanspray.coop.  

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[1] Maki KC et al. (2016). Consumption of a cranberry juice beverage lowered the number of clinical urinary tract infection episodes in women with a recent history of urinary tract infection. Am J Clin Nutr, 103(6): 1434-1442.

[2] Steel, Nicholas. (2017). Global, regional, and national age-sex specific mortality for 264 causes of death, 1980–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet, 390(10100), 1151-1210.

SOURCE Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.