7Up to stop adding vitamin E, antioxidant claims
Dr Pepper Snapple Group will remove vitamin E from its regular, diet cherry, mixed berry and pomegranate 7Up flavors as part of a legal agreement, in addition to taking off any antioxidant claims from its labels.
The company was sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in November 2012. The nonprofit consumer nutrition and health advocate said that the company was making false claims by placing pictures of cherries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries and pomegranates on its 7Up products and saying the drinks contained antioxidants. However, the nutritional benefits came from additives like vitamin E, not fruit itself.
The Food and Drug Administration currently does not allow companies to add vitamins to carbonated soft drinks and junk food.
"Soda is not a health food, and should not be marketed as a healthy source of antioxidants or other nutrients," CSPI litigation director Steve Gardner said in a press release. "It's to the credit of Dr Pepper Snapple Group that it carefully considered these concerns, and worked collaboratively to resolve the dispute without further litigation. The end result is a big plus for consumers."
7Up Cherry Antioxidant, Mixed Berry Antioxidant, and Pomegranate Antioxidant drinks were initially launched in 2009.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group originally agreed to remove their antioxidant line by 2013. They said in November 2012 that it was clear that their cherry-flavored soda does not contain juice. However, they had already decided to reformulate the drinks in 2011.
As part of the settlement, the company will pay $5,000 to the Center for Science in the Public Interest and $237,500 for its attorney's fees.
A recent lawsuit against Coca-Cola Co.'s VitaminWater also filed by CSPI has been allowed to move forward as a class-action lawsuit by a federal judge. CPSI says the company's claims that the beverages reduce disease and boost the immune system are false. They can seek injunctive relief, which means preventing Coca-Cola from promoting health claims, but they cannot seek financial damages.
A March 2013 study showed that as many as 180,000 people around the world die each year because of diseases brought on by sugary drinks like soda. About 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 44,000 from heart disease and 6,000 deaths from cancer may be attributed to sugar from drinks, according to that research.
