Feb 27 - Coke, Nestle and Beverage Partnership Worldwide (BPW) have agreed to pay US$650,000 to 27 US states over what Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called “questionable claims" that their Enviga green tea beverage would "burn extra calories resulting in weight loss”.
Attorney General Blumenthal, who led the coalition of states in the inquiry, further revealed the companies have agreed to “re-label Enviga and any similar product to add disclosures and to disclaim any weight loss benefits. It must note that weight loss is only possible through diet and exercise”.
"The settlement requires that in any marketing of Enviga, or a similarly formulated beverage, that uses the terms 'the calorie burner,' 'negative calories,' 'drink negative,' or makes any claims explicitly or implicitly that consumers will burn calories by drinking Enviga - there must be a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the product does not produce weight loss without diet and exercise", said Mr Blumental in a statement.
The probe was launched in 2007, as the attorney general began an investigation into claims that drinking Enviga would burn more calories than it contained and implying that consuming the product can lead to weight loss.
Mr Blumenthal said the claims made by the manufacturers led to “credibility loss more than weight loss" and that they were “weightless”.
“The Enviga lesson is that weight loss requires sound diet and exercise, not simply a concoction of caffeine and green tea," Blumenthal said.
"Enviga's calorie-burning claims led to credibility loss more than weight loss. Its new labels must now state clearly that calorie burning and weight loss requires proper diet and exercise.
"Enviga's implied weight loss claims were scientifically weightless -- unsupported by solid evidence. Enviga is no magic potion, capable of cutting pounds without pain.
"The larger message is that pound cutting claims are easy to swallow, but ultimately unsatisfying. Consumers deserve unadulterated truth -- on food product labels as well as contents."
According to the Connecticut Attorney General’s office Enviga's marketing claims purported that consuming three cans in a day would result in increased calorie burning by up to 60 to 100 calories per day.
But Mr Blumenthal dismissed the rigor of the research upon which this claim was made.
“The study cited by the companies, known as 'Rudelle' ran for only three days and consisted of a small group of healthy 18-35 year olds. The short study could not establish that the any calorie burning associated with Enviga could be sustained over time," he said.
The “limited results” of the Rudelle study - and the absence of any Enviga-related weight loss evidence - prompted Mr Blumenthal to question the implication that consumers would generally experience the same calorie burning as those healthy 18-35 year olds in a controlled setting.