Change In Policy Vitamin Water by Adiana Castro

A federal judge rejected Glaceau motion to dismiss a lawsuit from the Center of Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) regarding the violation of health claims on their VitaminWater beverages. Glaceau, a subsidiary of the Coco-Cola company, are the makers of VitaminWater.

Health claims are monitored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These claims are used to illustrate the relationship between a nutrient and disease or related-health condition. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 prohibits that health claims can be false or misleading. 

The FDA mission statement includes assuring the safety and efficacy of the nation’s food supply. The FDA is also responsible for using sound scientific-based information to promote public health, especially through food and medicine.

CSPI is suing the makers of VitaminWater. CSPI states there are misleading statements on the bottles that deter the consumer attention from the amount of sugar in the products. A 20-oz bottle of VitaminWater contains 8.25 teaspoons of sugar. Some of the misleading statements under review are the phrase “vitamin + water = all you need” on the product label, flavor names such as “rescue” and “defense” and  the statement “vitamins + water = what’s in your hand” used in advertisings materials. 

CSPI suggest that VitaminWater violated FDA regulations on 3 different occasions:
1.    Making health claims or implied nutrition-content claims despite the high amount of sugar in the product
2.    Making health or certain implied nutrient content claims despite the face that VitaminWater has been fortified with vitamins in violation of the FDA’s fortification policy
3.    Prominently featuring the name of some , but not all , of its ingredients in its product name and label

The FDA rejected the 1st argument because there is no law for high amounts of sugar in a product prohibiting a health claim. That law only applies to high levels of sodium, total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol in banning a health claim for a product.

The FDA confirms that VitaminWater has violated the fortification policy. The fortification policy states a product must have at least 10% of certain nutrient in its original state before it could be fortified. The reason behind the policy was to prevent food manufactures from promoting junk food by adding nutrients to make it seem healthy. Vitamin Water has added the following nutrients to their beverages: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B5 and Folic Acid.

The FDA also believed in the truth of the 3rd argument. One example of Vitamin Water using their B vitamins and the word healthy in their health claim. This statement was taken from the “B-Relaxed” flavor that states “is specially formulated with [B] vitamins and theanine. The [B] vitamins are there to replace those lost during times of stress (physical or mental). Theanine is an amino acid naturally found in teas leaves and has been shown to promote feelings of relations. This combination can help bring about a healthy state of physical and mental being.”

Since this statement uses “healthy” it is implying that this product can be used to make healthy, dietary choices. This claim is false since Vitamin Water solely has its nutritional quality due to its vitamin fortification that violates FDA policy. 

The 2nd and 3rd argument do violate the FDA regulations and will be used to move the case forward.

Reference

Center for Science in the Public Interest
http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/order_on_m-dismiss_doc_44.pdf