Healthy Skepticism Library item: 8955

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Publication type: news

Rumble C.
Ribena maker agrees to correct vitamin claims
The Age (Melbourne) 2007 Mar 22
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ribena-maker-agrees-to-correct-vitamin-claims/2007/03/21/1174153159518.html

Full text:

CLAIMS about the vitamin content of children’s fruit drink Ribena are being withdrawn after the manufacturer, drug giant GlaxoSmithKline, admitted they may be misleading.

The move comes as the company faces 15 charges in New Zealand for misleading consumers about the drink.

In Australia, the long-running advertising campaign for the drink implied it has four times as much vitamin C as orange juice products, but this is not true.

The nutrition information panel on ready-to-drink Ribena also has been wrong, overstating the vitamin C content.

According to the now-defunct label on 250-millilitre Ribena drinks, one serve contains 17.5 milligrams of vitamin C – or 44 per cent of recommended daily intake.

A company spokesperson yesterday said she did not know the true vitamin content.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, which reported its breach to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, has avoided local legal action by agreeing to correct the claims and place notices in shops and on Ribena websites. It is now reformulating the product.

Earlier this year, consumer watchdog Choice listed Ribena as one of 10 products that would make children fatter, faster. Made mainly from water and sugar, it contains just 5 per cent fruit juice, which is derived from concentrate.

The Age this week revealed children who regularly drink juice and other fruit drinks – all of which have high concentrations of sugar – are twice as likely to be overweight or obese.

Clare Hughes, a food policy officer at Choice, said parents did not have the time to assess the marketing hype on children’s foods and drinks.

“We advise consumers that the nutritional panel is often the truth behind the hype on the front of the pack, but in this case even that was inaccurate,” Ms Hughes said.

Royal Children’s Hospital nutrition services manager Kay Gibbons said the misleading advertising and labelling would undermine consumer confidence in nutrition panels.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand, which regulates food labelling, is now reviewing the rules about health and nutrition claims.

SUGAR HIT

250ml of Ribena contains: ■ 35.3 grams of sugar – equivalent to nine teaspoons.

■ 625 kilojoules.