Green Tea Makers Healthy Claim – FDA Target – A number of green tea makers have come under fire from the FDA. The product is often marketed as “healthy” for you, and like grapes and dark chocolate, it is full of antioxidants.However, the FDA now says that both Canada Dry and Lipton have gone too far with their unsubstantiated nutritional claims that are made for their green tea products.
Canada Dry claims that their Green Tea ginger ale is “enhanced with 200 mg of antioxidants from green tea and vitamin C.” The FDA claims that they are not allowed to make this claim, because the nutrients that are included in their product are not nutrients that have recognized antioxidant activity.
Beverage makers have been fortifying their food with vitamins and nutrients so that they are allowed to make those claims and attract health-minded consumers. However, the FDA has stated that they do not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods and carbonated beverages, as the positive health impact is often overstated.
The FDA’s issue with the Lipton website is that it shows four studies that show that their product is shown to lower cholesterol. The agency has said that they went too far by posting the studies on their website, because they are now venturing into the realm of claiming that their product can prevent disease. The company also had a number of antioxidant labeling claims that the FDA took issue with.
Representatives from both companies have been asked to submit their revised advertising plans to the FDA for approval.