Lawsuit against Coca Cola’s Vitaminwater

First filed in 2009 it alleges that brand’s parent company, Coca-Cola (KO), took part in “deceptive labeling and marketing for the soft drink, which included claims that the drink could reduce rise for eye disease, promote healthy joints and support ‘optimal immune function.’” The complaint also takes issue with the company’s marketing campaign, which includes words like “defense,” “rescue,” and “endurance” on various Vitaminwater labels, suggesting that their product, a non carbonated soda containing

Coca Cola’s  attorneys said “no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking Vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.” Stephen Gardner, chief litigator for the CSPI, thinks this argument is “utter nonsense.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy in Brooklyn recommended that plaintiffs in the case should be able to litigate for declaratory and injunctive relief as a class action. but they however, seek financial damages. So all they can get is for Coca Cola to change the label to stop them from deceptive practices.

In November the CSPI filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Dr Pepper Snapple Group claiming misleading information on regular and diet varieties of 7Up Antioxidant sodas, including cherry, mixed berry, and pomegranate. Although the beverages contained small amounts of vitamin E, the labels—which featured pictures of fruit—could confuse customers, according to the CSPI, into thinking the products were fortified with antioxidants from actual fruit or fruit juice. The suit was settled out of court last week, Dr Pepper Snapple Group agreed to remove all references to “antioxidant” on the products’ labels.

In January, the Federal Trade Commission found POM Wonderful, makers of several fruit-based beverages,guilty of “deceptively advertising  their products and did not have adequate support for claims that the products could treat, prevent, or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction, and that they were clinically proven to work.”

Yet another class-action lawsuit, this one filed in 2011 against Naked Juice—owned by PepsiCo—claimed that several of Naked’s juice and smoothie products contained misleading or false information, like that the contents were “all natural” or contained “nothing artificial.” The drinks in fact included numerous synthetic ingredients, such GM soy, fructooligosaccharides and inulin. As of last week, the company agreed to a $9 million settlement, which includes removing the misleading labels and hiring an independent tester to determine just how many genetically modified organisms (if any) are in their drinks.

Will people stop drinking these products? Probably not.