Vitaminwater's Nutrition Claims Misleading, Says UK Ad Group

LONDON — Britain's ad regulator says Vitaminwater has too much sugar to be accurately described as nutritious and has ordered owner Coca-Cola to stop running advertisements carrying the claim.

The Advertising Standards Authority says Coca-Cola broke ad rules when it described its popular line of flavored water products as "delicious and nutritious," explaining that consumers wouldn't expect a drink marketed as nutritious to have between four and five teaspoons of added sugar.

The Coca-Cola Co. won't face any further action as long as it doesn't run the ad again. Coca-Cola said Wednesday that it was disappointed by the ruling.

The U.S. soft drinks maker bought Glaceau, Vitaminwater's maker, for $4.1 billion in 2007.

Comments

[jgarma]

03:26 PM on 01/23/2011

Do yourself a favor and forget about plastic bottled water, vitamin infused or not!!

The water stored in plastic, particularly when in the sun, will absorb carcinogenic chemicals, like BPA (Bisphenol-A), not to mention the environmental impact... consider that over 1,500 plastic water bottles get dumped in the garbage EVERY SECOND!

Save your health, the environment and money simply by purchasing a good filter for tap water and a non-plastic water bottle to contain the water that you filter. Simple enough.

If you're willing to consider plastic bottle alternatives, here are some resources and information to get you going:

- Why take the plastic out of water: http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2009/12/water-in-plastic-has-gotta-go-for-your-sake/
- The safety of tap water: http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2009/12/safe-tap-water/
- Alternatives to plastic bottles: http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2010/04/alternative-water-bottles/ and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jill-donenfeld/earth-day-cool-alternativ_b_546193.html#s83019&title=undefined

Oh, and yes, forget about getting vitamins via vitamin water. Get a bigger bang for the buck by buying a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and drinking it down with your own filtered water. I use Maximum Wellness Formula: http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2009/08/vitamins-and-minerals-the-basics/#Wellness

[onionboy]

02:56 PM on 01/24/2011

Or get a bigger bang for your buck by not wasting bucks on multi-vitamins.

[jthor]

10:02 AM on 01/23/2011

duh...

[Roadrun]

09:02 PM on 01/22/2011

This shouldn't be news to anybody, and certainly isn't to Coke Co.

Fact, milk has calcium and potassium in good quantities. Your muscles, brain and nerves require calcium and potassium to function. Sugar does little unless you have cancer which just loves sugar in major ways. So when you are tired drink 2% milk and you will be good to go.

[addisonsteele]

05:39 PM on 01/21/2011

In a lawsuit about false advertising claims, Coca-cola's attorney tried a novel defense: no reasonable person would ever believe that Vitaminwater was nutritious. By the way, this stuff has more sugar (or should I say high fructose corn syrup) than comparable sizes of soda.

[oneplanka]

05:18 PM on 01/21/2011

repackaged, healthy sugary coke product.. nothing more. Truly, we live in an idiocracy.

"Brawndo.... it's got what plants crave."

[Fred Butters]

12:11 PM on 01/22/2011

Yeah but... it's got electrolytes in it.

[TMcKeon]

02:50 PM on 01/21/2011

A nice reusable water bottle that's PFC free is almost as convenient, and if you must have "vitamins" in it, dissolve a quarter teaspoon of ascorbic acid in the container and -- voila! -- 1,000 mg. of vitamin C in a glass of water. Better yet, eat, then drink your water.

[saami]

01:38 PM on 01/21/2011

If you grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food then don't consume it.

[oneplanka]

05:21 PM on 01/21/2011

better yet, if you have trouble pronouncing it.... don't freaking eat it

[oomph]

02:59 AM on 01/22/2011

Indeed. If it has a government nutrition label on it, then it's probably bad for you.

[saami]

01:33 PM on 01/21/2011

Of course you have been duped. Just drink regular water (tap water is usually just as good as bottled) and eat a good diet (moderation in all things) and move (exercise or walk) and that should do it.

[shakawoosh]

05:15 AM on 01/21/2011

Who da heck has been duped?

[loki]

01:35 AM on 01/21/2011

look, for years now they have been telling us that bottled water is better, and we bought it hook line and sinker. Now they are trying to tell us that by adding a few vitamins and sugars to the water,they can charge more and its even better for us than the over charged water..

they are also telling us that there is a shortage of water coming, which considering that water doesn't really get used up, it recycles by nature, and that corporations are making these claims, I'm a little skeptical. There are always droughts, but there is always fresh water somewhere all the time.

[thepostalfeminist]

02:31 PM on 01/20/2011

Misled? Are you kidding? The only people misled are the people who didn't bother to read the label. What nonsense. The best water is clear, clean water, a couple litres a day.

[AngryHarpy]

08:13 PM on 01/20/2011

Smart Water is also good stuff, but Vitamin Water and those fruity water knockoffs are horrible.

[saami]

01:34 PM on 01/21/2011

You don't need a couple of liters a day; that old saw has been proven incorrect.

[Fred Butters]

12:15 PM on 01/22/2011

It came from a study that showed we get about 8 glasses of water a day from our food. That was tweaked into "we need to drink 8 glasses of water a day" which turned into "Bring a water bottle with you everywhere you go or you'll get dehydrated."

Drink when you're thirsty and eat healthy. You'll be fine.

[cccoyote]

02:27 PM on 01/20/2011

Not any more misleading than the gatorade type drinks - diluted corn syrup.
Consumers react to ads, not ingredients. With the right ad agent, water with alum would sell.

[angrymanspokane]

01:16 PM on 01/20/2011

Another example of brilliant marketing defeating plain old common sense. The ingredients are not a secret, it's right on the label. Anyone with a fundamantal grasp of language should be able to figure out that "vitamin" water is really just sugar water. Same with "sports" drinks. Our first mistake is trusting that things on a supermarket shelf are actually not harmful.

[nothingchanges]

12:26 PM on 01/20/2011

Idol curiosity to add to the debate....................

Several articles on HP give recommendations on what vitamins or supplements we should be taking. Many are licensed physicians.

To my knowledge there are no regulations, testing requirements, pretty much anything to insure that what the bottle says on the outside, is what we get on the inside. Sugar is relatively cheap and is also commonly used as a placebo. How many supplements are actually just sugar tablets wrapped in a pretty package? How could we know?

If vitamin supplements are recommended, shouldn't there be some oversight to protect the public?

I know, I know, more government red tape, more expense. But without some bottom line quality assurances..............maybe we shouldn't be taking any supplements at all.

[nothingchanges]

12:32 PM on 01/20/2011

Idle, not Idol.

Not enough mental acuity supplements I guess.

[saami]

01:37 PM on 01/21/2011

When you grocery shop, do most of your purchases on the outer aisles where the fresh food is. Try to avoid refined or processed food as it has lots of crap in it that does you no good and might even be harmful like the tons of salt they put in it.

[purenergy]

03:27 AM on 01/20/2011

Why is it ok to allow General Mills to put a white check on the box of "whole grain" Lucky Charms and call it healthy (despite all the sugar/HFCS), but not some measly vitamin water, which at the VERY least does have less sugar than gatorade or soda.

[Repubnomore]

12:29 PM on 01/20/2011

Good question. Neither should be allowed to promote any health benefits because their respective sugar content more than cancels them out.

This article was about the UK. US labeling laws are different. According to Dr. Lustig, the US doesn't consider a food substance harmful unless it has immediate health consequences. Alcohol gets a warning. Sugar falls in the "over time" category so it does not.

I laugh at the gullibility of people who believe honey nut Cheerios are heart healthy because whole oats can lower your cholesterol. High fructose corn syrup can raise your triglycerides which is even more dangerous than high LDL!

[Rufuszen]

02:11 PM on 01/20/2011

Lucky Charms are not generally available in UK supermarkets, certainly not in my part of
West London.