Ocean Spray commits $10 million to researching cranberry’s health benefits
Ocean Spray Cranberries, a grower-owned cooperative, has 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).
Ocean Spray Cranberries, a grower-owned cooperative, has 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.”
To rapidly advance antibiotic stewardship education and training, the Ocean Spray Cranberry Health Institute has formed partnerships with several expert third-party organizations, including the National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration (NADONA). As one of the initiatives of the NADONA partnership, the Institute will provide a new annual award recognizing the most progressive antibiotic stewardship program nationally and an antibiotic stewardship leader nominated by their facility.
To help the Ocean Spray Cranberry Health Institute best understand the role cranberries can play in preventing disease and supporting health, research is already underway with a collaboration between the Broad Institute, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Washington University’s Center for Women's Infectious Disease Research.