Fresh white hope
Jersey are looking to the white version of their popular red fruit.
In a bid to boost the flagging cranberry industry farmers in New Jersey are looking to the white version of their popular red fruit. The white cranberry is the same variety as the familiar red one except they are harvested about three weeks earlier, before they become crimson. According to the cranberry industry the white version contains the same amount of vitamin C as the reds, along with the condensed tannins that studies have shown make cranberry juice effective in warding off urinary tract infections. The cranberry industry has recently been suffering from a glut in the market. In 1996 growers obtained $69.50 a barrel for their cranberries, in 2000 this figure dropped to below $20. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered a sales limit on cranberries of 4.6 million barrels, or 65 per cent of normal, to alleviate the glut of fruit. It would be reasonable to suggest that Ocean Spray, the giant cooperative of cranberrry producers, is hoping that its new white cranberry drinks products will uplift the cranberry market. White Cranberry, White Cranberry Strawberry and White Cranberry Peach juice may soon hit the shelves.
