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Ocean Spray Can Shortage Prompts Switch to Fresh Cranberries

Ocean Spray Can Shortage Prompts Switch to Fresh Cranberries

Lovers of canned cranberries may have to be flexible this Thanksgiving and opt for fresh due to shortages of the cans used to transport the fruit, Ocean Spray Chief Executive Officer Tom Hayes told Bloomberg Radio.

Ocean Spray, a cooperative of more than 700 farms, was forced to use different cans due to supply-chain woes, potentially causing a dearth of cranberries in parts of the country ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday.

That means that consumers who prefer “iconic cranberry jellied sauce in a can” may not get what they want, Hayes said. People may have to “make cranberry sauce from fresh berries,” Hayes said Monday.

Snags in the supply chain for cranberries come as overall Thanksgiving-dinner bills were rising 14% from a year ago amid soaring food inflation, according to the American Farm Bureau. It’s not just cranberries: supplies of turkey in cold storage sank to the lowest ever ahead of Thursday’s holiday.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.