When the manufacturer of Voltage, a major soft drink, changed its secret formula last year, the export earnings of an island in the Indian Ocean began to fall. This island’s only export comprises more than half of the world’s supply of vanilla beans. Analysts concluded that the original formula of Voltage contained vanilla from beans, but the new formula did not.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn by the analysts?
(A) The vanilla-bean plantings of a nearby island were beginning to produce crops.
(B) A new process for synthesizing vanilla was under development in a laboratory in the United States.
© The island’s trade agreement, under which the vanilla beans were exported to the country that manufactures Voltage, had lapsed.
(D) Imports of vanilla beans dropped in countries where Voltage is made.
(E) There were decreases in sales of several widely sold products that were known to contain vanilla.