America's Hottest Red Berry Tantalizes Taste Buds; Cranberry's Unique Flavor and Nutrition Add All-Around-Pizzazz During National Nutrition Month.

LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass. -- Popping up everywhere from restaurant menus and trendy bars to airline meals and family tables, Americans are discovering the crisp, refreshingly tart taste cranberry delivers - while reaping the health benefits along the way. Loaded with antioxidant and anti-adhesion powers, cranberry is much more than a culinary delight; they even pack unique urinary tract, dental, stomach and heart health benefits. That's why during National Nutrition Month, sponsored by the American Dietetic Association, when Americans are urged to eat healthier - adding a uniquely flavorful fruit to a healthy diet is bound to please the senses - and benefit the body.

National Nutrition Month is a time when Americans are encouraged to achieve a healthy lifestyle by choosing the right balance of foods to get the right combination of nutrients while monitoring total calories consumed. Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, it's important to choose foods that are full of flavor, texture and even different colors that satisfy the senses and also provide a nutritious punch. Choosing from a variety of Ocean Spray cranberry products such as fresh cranberries, whole berry and jellied cranberry sauce, Craisins(R) Sweetened Dried Cranberries, and the full line of Light Juice Drinks provides healthy goodness and can liven up any meal or healthy snack. For a refreshing thirst quencher, Ocean Spray Premium 100% Juices provide wholesome nutrition and contain 100 percent of the vitamin C recommended every day for good health, while Cranberry Juice Cocktail with Calcium helps the whole family maintain strong bones. Light Juice Drinks contain 2/3 fewer carbs and 2/3 fewer calories and is perfect for those looking to cut back on calories without sacrificing taste.

"The cranberry is a powerful ingredient in the kitchen. It has the ability to transform the ordinary into something surprisingly flavorful," says Cindy Taccini, Manager of the Ocean Spray Test Kitchen. "The little red berry is a healthy addition to any meal and also adds tasty benefits the whole family will enjoy, the perfect culinary component."

With the versatile cranberry, the culinary possibilities are endless. Make a meal more pleasing to the eye and healthy at the same time by sprinkling colorful Craisins(R) Sweetened Dried Cranberries into a recipe for Apple Cranberry Marsala or Cranberry Pineapple Cilantro Salsa. Top off a meal with the sweet and airy taste of Light Cranberry Mousse. For more recipe ideas, go to www.oceanspray.com.

In addition to adding pizzazz to meals, a small clinical study suggests that drinking Ocean Spray Light cranberry juice cocktail boosts HDL, or good cholesterol, to help shield the heart from disease. Adding to cranberry's "anti-stick" powers that help ward off urinary tract infections, research also shows promising results with ulcers and dental health.

While cranberry packs a nutritious punch, drinking one 8-ounce serving of any of the Premium 100% Juices, or eating 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries counts as one serving of fruit recommended every day for good health. So, for those having trouble meeting the USDA's new guideline of eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and want the health benefits, remember one 8-ounce glass can help achieve this nutrition goal.

Apple Cranberry Marsala

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Marsala wine
2 tablespoons apple jelly
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup Ocean Spray(R) Craisins(R) Original Sweetened Dried
Cranberries

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper; set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high
heat. Add chicken and cook about 4 minutes on each side or until
chicken is golden brown and no longer pink inside. Remove to platter
and keep warm.

Stir wine, jelly and apples into skillet. Bring to a boil and
scrape up the brown bits from the pan. Add sweetened dried
cranberries. Cook 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spoon over
chicken. Makes 4 servings.

Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry growers in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and other parts of Canada as well as more than 100 Florida grapefruit growers. Ocean Spray was formed 75 years ago by three cranberry growers from Massachusetts and New Jersey. Florida grapefruit growers joined the Cooperative in 1976. Ocean Spray is North America's leading producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks, and has been the best-selling brand name in the canned and bottled juice category since 1981. Ocean Spray posted fiscal 2004 gross sales of roughly $1.4 billion.