Arthur Sherwood Flemming - Cranberry Scare of 1959

Cranberry Scare of 1959

On November 9, 1959, Secretary Flemming announced, seventeen days before the Thanksgiving holiday, that some of the 1959 crop of cranberries contained traces of aminotriazole, a weed killer, which had been shown to cause thyroid cancer in rats in laboratory testing. Although the sale of cranberries was not banned, Flemming cautioned that if a housewife didn't know where the berries in a product came from, "to be on the safe side, she doesn't buy". Flemming acknowledged the impact of his announcement prior to the holidays, but added "I don't have any right to sit on information of this kind."

After decreased sales of cranberries during the holiday season, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined, in January, 1960, that 99% of the crop had not been contaminated. However, the incident did cause cranberry growers to cease using amitrole as a herbicide, as demanded by the farmers' largest consumer, the Ocean Spray company. Prior to 1959, cranberries were seldom consumed except during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and cranberry juice was available, but not popular. After the disastrous holiday season, Ocean Spray promoted the popularity of the juice, and the production of the berries was increased in the long run.