EFSA response Statement – Ocean Spray Cranberry
From Jared Konstanty, Managing Director of Ocean Spray Europe, Middle East and Africa
You may have seen media articles on the EU rejecting health benefit claims of a number of brands, including Ocean Spray cranberry juice in relation to urinary tract infections in women. We wanted to give you a full insight into the procedure that prompted this piece.
Decades of research from around the world from independent bodies confirms that regular consumption of cranberry juice helps prevent urinary tract infections. This is not in dispute, even by EFSA.
EFSA did not censure Ocean Spray or state that Ocean Spray was making false claims. The total EFSA opinion supported our claims that Regular Consumption of Cranberry Classic helps prevent recurrent UTIs.
Ocean Spray has never made a false health claim and we never will. Medics and health professionals from around the globe have come out in support of cranberry.
Dr Rosemary Leonard, MBE, GP and broadcaster “There is good evidence that cranberry juice stops bacteria from sticking to the lining of the urinary tract. The research work done so far has shown promising results but stringent requirements of the EFSA mean that more clinical trials need to be done. But as a GP I have no hesitation in recommending cranberry juice to my female patients that present with urinary tract infections and it has appeared to be very helpful, particularly in women who suffer with recurrent cystitis.”
Konstanty continues, “What we were trying to demonstrate with this health claim application was exactly how regular consumption of cranberry juice helps prevent urinary tract infections. Specifically we want to prove how Cranberry proanthocyanidins (PACs) work to prevent bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract, which has been established in lab studies. The clinical studies we voluntarily submitted to EFSA in support of this specific health claim were not conducted in the manner that EFSA demands.
While the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Nutrition, Dietetic products and Allergy (NDA) accepted certain aspects of our claim as beneficial to human health, it ruled that to fully meet its unique requirements for passing a Disease Risk Reduction claim (Article 14), additional clinical data and studies are required to support a disease reduction claim.
Our clinical trials to date have been well received, and published in respected, peer-reviewed journals including JAMA. We now need to ensure our clinical studies are carried out to meet the exact requirements of the NDA Panel.
Recently EFSA has acknowledged some issues with the clarity of their claim requirements and has now issued additional guidance to clarify the exact information required for claim submissions to be approved.
As EFSA has now clarified its guidelines, Ocean Spray will review our claim application to see what additional information is necessary to meet EFSA’s thresholds.
EFSA is not an investigative body, but a new EU way of working, which we are all learning. We are committed to further research that meets its requirements so we can talk to consumers more specifically about exactly how regular consumption of cranberry juice helps prevent UTIs."