CSPI alleges VitaminWater claims false
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
One month after FDA sent a letter to Coca-Cola warning that the beverage firm misbranded its Diet Coke Plus, the Atlanta-based firm's VitaminWater is the target of a proposed class action lawsuit. This time, the Center for Science in the Public Interest files a suit in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California alleging the company falsely advertises its VitaminWateras a healthy alternative to soda. Each bottle of VitaminWater has 33 grams of sugar and makes claims that "go far beyond even the loose, so-called 'structure/function claims' allowed by" FDA, CSPI says in a Jan. 15 release. Coca-Cola could not be reached for comment. FDA has warned that Diet Coke Plus does not contain enough nutrients for a "plus" claim (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 5, 2009, p. 9)