OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRY SAUCE — NOT CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE®

RAPID REVIEW

October 2024

We’ll use this Homemade ingredient listing below as a reference as we look at Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauces.

Shown below, OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRY SAUCE THEN vs. NOW COMPARISON: Once upon a time, Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce was made with Sugar as a sweetener and was Closest To Homemade. Now, Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce is made with High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup and is banned at Whole Foods.

Q: Which one would you rather eat?

Q: Why do you think Ocean Spray switched from Sugar to High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup >> was this change made in the interest of The Company or The Consumer?

Here’s what’s in Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauces today >> Whole Berry (below left) and Jellied (below right):

OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRY SAUCES ARE BANNED AT WHOLE FOODS FOR CONTAINING HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP WHICH WHOLE FOODS CITES AS “UNACCEPTABLE IN FOOD.” (Source for banned ingredients: Whole Foods Web site 10/24)

As shown above, one 14oz. can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce contains 22  grams of Added Sugar in the Whole Berry and 24 grams of Added Sugar in the Jellied Cranberry Sauce.

For perspective, the American Heart Association recommends that children consume no more than 25 grams of Added Sugars daily. (Source: AHA 2024)

Added sugars are defined as those sugars which are added beyond those which may naturally occur (in this case, in the cranberries). All cranberry sauces do contain some small amount of naturally occurring sugars from the cranberries, but the naturally occurring sugars in cranberries are minimal because cranberries are one of the lowest sugar fruits. This is why cranberries are so tart.

Shown below: OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRY COMPARISON: Whole Organic Cranberries vs. Jellied Cranberry Sauce.

1/2 cup of  Organic Cranberries has only 2 grams of naturally-occurring Sugar vs. 1/4 cup of Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce which contains 24 grams of Added Sugar.

CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCES: Shown below, these Closest To Homemade brands have no High Fructose Corn Syrup or Corn Syrup, no Chemical Preservatives and no Added Flavors or Colors. These include Appalachian Naturals Cranberry Sauce sweetened with Monk Fruit Extract; Maple Craft Foods Cranberry Sauce sweetened with Vermont Maple Syrup; New England Cranberry Colonial Cranberry Sauce; Tiptree Wilkin & Sons Wild Cranberry Sauce, and Williams Sonoma New England Style Cranberry Relish. (Sources: Brand Web sites 10/24)

Shown below, CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE ORGANIC CRANBERRY SAUCES: These include USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified Woodstock; Organic Appalachian Naturals; Thrive Market Organic Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce; Whole Foods 365 Organic Whole Berry Organic Cranberry Sauce in a non-BPA lined can, and Simple Truth Organic Jellied Cranberry Sauce in a non-BPA lined can. (Sources: Brand Web sites 10/24)

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