Science Fair Project Exposes GlaxoSmithKline Lies 253
shadowspar writes "Despite claims made by GlaxoSmithKline that their Ribena soft drinks are high in Vitamin C, two New Zealand high school students found in their science fair research project that at least some formulations of the drink contained no detectable levels of the vitamin. As a result, GSK has been fined over $200,000 by the NZ Commerce Commission and ordered to run newspaper ads admitting that some of their drinks contain no Vitamin C."
Old news (Score:5, Informative)
They sort of told the truth (Score:4, Informative)
For a company to ignore even fourteen year olds and hope they will just go away is really dumb. Better to deal with the problem before it gets big.
Anyway, what I understood the company to have said was something like: "The berries that this product is made from have more vitamin C than orange juice." The problem being, of course, that none of the vitamin C made it into the product.
Re:only in slashdot comments (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.google.com/search?q=does+sugar+cause+d
You could say that sugar causes diabetes in the same way that cigarette lighters cause lung cancer.
Re:Old news (Score:2, Informative)
Re:companies must think we are truly dumb. (Score:5, Informative)
The NYT has this article from back in the days: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=he
Re:sugar (Score:3, Informative)
Re:A dangerous game (Score:5, Informative)
The students *didn't* take their findings to the press. They turned their findings into the Commerce Commission who launched an investigation.
Re:sugar (Score:3, Informative)
About 40% of it is converted to aspartic acid. Aspartic acid is tolerated at low levels, but if it spikes to high levels (as it does when aspartame is consumed and absorbed quickly, as in a beverage) it is an excitotoxin [wikipedia.org], potentially causing nerve and brain cell damage.
Relation to cancers of various sorts are implied by some, but are largely unproven. Studies on humans show no cancer increase, but because aspartame is hardly a quarter century old, there does not exist a human population over age 40 (the age range where they look for cancer correlations) that has had a life-long exposure to it. Studies with rats show increase in some cancers in correlation with aspartame ingestion starting at a young age. It'll be about 2020 before a meaningful study of lifelong aspartame consumption and cancer can be made.
Basically, what it comes down to is that aspartame does turn into harmful substances in the body, but that the effect is probably entirely dependent on the individual's health and the quantity consumed.
Sugar is just sugar. Like any other nutrient, overindulgence causes problems. Personally, I'll stick with sugar and monitor my consumption, rather than lavishly indulging my sweet tooth with a mildly toxic artificial sweetener that may or may not be too much for my liver and brain to handle.
Re:A dangerous game (Score:2, Informative)
(article 1)
"They found Ribena did not contain the advertised level of vitamin C. GlaxoSmithKline didn't reply when the students approached the firm with their findings, so they took their results to a TV show.
Then the commerce commission got involved, leading GlaxoSmithKline to plead guilty to 15 advertising-related charges on Tuesday."
(article 2)
"After attempts to contact Ribena resulted in a brush-off, the duo went to Fair Go. As well as filming the story, the organisation told the girls to contact the Commerce Commission, which they did."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Go/ [wikipedia.org]
They took it to a 'investigative journalism' TV show first (aka 'The Press' - their motto is "If you've been ripped off, short-changed or given the runaround and nobody wants to know...we do!"), and then the TV people suggested that they take it to the CC.
Dont be a hater =)
Re:Stabilty of ascorbic acid in solution. (Score:1, Informative)
Re:How did they do it (Score:3, Informative)
Re:companies must think we are truly dumb. (Score:2, Informative)
You may have heard recently some Ribena drinks in Australia and New Zealand have been found to contain less Vitamin C than stated on pack. The case came about because the method we had used for testing Australian and New Zealand products was not sensitive enough to measure the natural break down in Vitamin C that occurs over time while this type of product is on shelf. First things first: we wanted to reassure you this isn't the case in the UK. Ribena contains the levels of Vitamin C as stated on our packaging and we're still committed to producing the same quality refreshment that's been enjoyed in the UK for the last 70 years. During that time we've worked with three generations of blackcurrant growers to create the unique Ribena taste we know our consumers love. We also wanted to let you know that people who consume Ribena are obviously our number one concern. It was never our intention to mislead consumers in Australia and New Zealand and we're really sorry this has happened. We've moved to a new method of testing Vitamin C levels in those countries and we're also developing a new recipe for our drinks in Australia and New Zealand to ensure Vitamin C levels are maintained over shelf life. If you have any questions then give us a bell on 0800 096 3666. The Ribena Consumer Careline Team
Vitamin C is destroyed by air... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Seinfeld saw this coming (Score:3, Informative)
Re:sugar (Score:3, Informative)
In fact, from your own link : "... he was surprised to hear that fructose and HFCS had become common sweeteners in the United States. He said they were virtually unheard of in England