On 2004 the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA, now called ANSES) has approved the claim on Northern Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) that Cranberry “helps to reduce the binding of certain E. coli bacteria on the walls urinary tract walls “.
The claim is based on studies using supplements with 36 mg PAC.
Between 2009 and 2013, EFSA assessed various claims that the consumption of products containing cranberry (beverages, dried fruit) or cranberry extracts (food supplements) had a beneficial effect on urinary tract function.
All these assessments are consistent and indicate that cranberry products reduce the adherence of certain UTI-causing bacteria to the urinary tract walls.
Experimental studies do indeed show that cranberry products (juice, cocktails or juice extracts) or urine from subjects who consumed these products inhibit the adherence of certain E. coli bacteria to uroepithelial cells. This effect is related to the presence in cranberry products of antioxidants called proanthocyanidins (PACs) that are responsible for the anti-adherence effect.
