Less than two hours ago, Reuters reported that The Center for Science in the Public Interest "filed a class action lawsuit against Coca-Cola Co, accusing the company of making deceptive health claims about its Vitamin Water beverages."Can't say I disagree.
It is precisely Vitamin Water's cutesy and health-oriented advertising that has resulted in "I don't drink soda" types buying into what is, essentially, vitamin-fortified sugar water.
For more information on this beverage, please read this "You Ask/I Answer" post from August of 2007.
Coca Cola, meanwhile, is dismissing this as an attention-seeking move by CSPI, claiming their nutrition facts label tells an accurate tale.
Okay, but that is not what CSPI is challenging.
Rather, it is "the company's claims [that] the drinks reduce the risk of chronic disease and eye disease, promote healthy joints and support immune function" that are being called out as deceptive.
There is also the issue of the particular names attributed to each flavor (including "defense", "energy", and "rescue").
Obviously, Vitamin Water depends on those healthy-sounding terms for sales.
Otherwise, their fruit punch flavor would simply be named "fruit punch" rather than "revive."
I strongly support more regulation surrounding health claims on these types of products. What are your thoughts?
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1 comment:
I've never been comfortable with the idea of beverages that have to have a "maximum daily dose" on the bottle. That includes caffeine drinks, too. Not that you should splurge on juices, milk or pop, but if you drink five juices instead of two, you're not going to overdose on something dangerous to your immediate health like you can with caffeine drinks and water with fat soluble vitamins in it.
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