Cranberry group seeks 'cran'sparency

Three European cranberry extract suppliers have formed a new association with the explicit aim of clarifying standards governing the manner in which proanthocyanidins (PACs) content is communicated to consumers.

Burgundy Botanical Extracts, Diana Naturals, and Tournay Biotechnologies say the European Association for the Valorization of Cranberry (Euracran) will work towards establishing a common standard for determining PAC content based on the European Pharmacopoeia.

“Many methods exist for the determination of PACs: DMAC, vanillin, Bate-Smith, HPLC, European Pharmacopoeia,” Euracran said in a statement.

“All these methods of analysis of PACs were tested, compared, assessed, especially in terms of reproducibility, reliability and ease of implementation avoiding uncertainties related to the protocol. The consolidation of all these results led Euracran to guide its choice to the method of the European Pharmacopoeia.”

A website has been established at www.euracran.com.