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."
companies must think we are truly dumb. (Score:5, Interesting)
our bodies that do not contain the ingredients listed on the
can. Not quite the pet food disaster that happened to animals,
but it is getting closer.
Like i tell others, until babies die from baby food, no one
will string the company owners up to the nearest tree.
Seinfeld saw this coming (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Seinfeld saw this coming (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, 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
But... it has electrolytes! (Score:2)
Stabilty of ascorbic acid in solution. (Score:2, Insightful)
So the question is, how long were these kids Ribena samples on the shelf before they purchased them? They might very well have had the a
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Innocent Company: *grabs a few bottles from random stores* "Here, test these and fuck off."
Re:Stabilty of ascorbic acid in solution. (Score:5, Insightful)
While it's true that the initial tip-off came from two high-schoolers, their results were confirmed by Commerce Commision testing. One can safely assume that the confirmatory tests were conducted under controlled conditions in an accredited laboratory. Which is why GSK copped the fine & has been trying to limit damage ever since.
RTFA.
No wait. This is slashdot...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
How the hell is a consumer meant to survive in this era of corporate lies, when the governments of the day do absolutely nothing to ensure the products on the shelves actually adhere to the claims o
Advertisers lie? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
FWIW, GSK probably could've gotten off the hook if there had been *some* vitamin C in the drink, too - "high in vitamin C" is also a rather ephemeral claim insofar as that it's not c
Old news (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Old news ... Mod parent back up. (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not trolling to point out that this was news at least 10 days ago. The Age in Melbourne last updated their story [theage.com.au] on May 21, though Google indexed it there [google.com.au] on the 20th.
Mod parent +2 Apology.
Re:Old news ... Mod parent back up. (Score:5, Insightful)
commenting about the article is on-topic EVEN when it's not commentary that you personally like. Anyone should be able to figure this out. It is so obvious I can't believe it has to be explained to anyone with mod points.
Mods also need to figure out that anyone who vehemently disagrees is not "Flamebait" unless their primary purpose is to insult. But if they are using something resembling facts and logic, even if they're not G-rated nice, it's not flamebait.
For this reason I am almost harsh when meta-moderating, which I do anytime the opportunity comes up. I am tired of this shit; shitty moderation is how you ruin a site like this and because it doesn't happen all at once and in-your-face but happens gradually over time, people don't see it this way.
I fully expect to be modded Offtopic or Troll or Flamebait for "daring" to (again) call bullshit when I see it. My Karma is sitting at "Excellent" so do your worst and prove me right.
Re: (Score:2)
Where on slashdot's banner does it say, "Accurate, Timely and Not A Dupe?"
Sheesh.
HAHAHAHAHA (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Brilliant. (Score:5, Funny)
Also, the comeuppance is doubly sweet when it's underdogs. And who's more of an underdog than an intelligent high school student with an avid interest in science?
In the movie version, there would be a B-plot about the nerds winning the hearts of two pretty girls through the process. Maybe the girls are interns at GSK. I don't know. Hire Charlie Kauffman.
Erratum (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Brilliant. (Score:5, Funny)
No animals were harmed in the making of this movie. Directed by Jack Thompson.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
I like their style (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Pfft. Dude, the 80's called and they want their punishment back.
No, they should be forced to blog about their crime in a fashion that speaks to their target base:
LyK oMg, I aM jUsT gOiNg ThRu TeH hArDeSt TiMe Of My LyF...gOt nO C n Mi dRnKS!!1!!1!
And.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Real chemists have better things to do with their time in most cases, and the general public doesn't have the skill...so really, the high school kids are perfectly primed to discover this sort of thing. T
Re: (Score:2)
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.
Only $200k? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Now the other side of the coin is that Vitamin C is one of the most overhyped vitamins ever. Small amounts are neccessary for the production of healthy tissue, and that's about it. There is no medical evidence that it helps prevent or cure colds, etc. And a balanced diet provides more than enough Vitamin C.
This is one of my favorites... (Score:2)
http://www.brachs.com/products/product.asp?base_c
Brach's sells candy as a health food because they used some Vitamin C to add tartness. I actually saw a package in the store a few months ago with big writing saying "Vitamin C!", "NO FAT!".
Re:Only $200k? (Score:5, Interesting)
See, before we even get to the possible benefits of vitamin C, we already have good reason to believe 90mg/day is an unnaturally low number. We, as a species, suffer from hypoascorbia due to a genetic defect. The fact that it hasn't killed us doesn't mean it's healthy. Not all mutations are good. If vitamin C is so inconsequential, why did all animal life evolve to produce so much of it?
the latest research that I heard differs (Score:3, Interesting)
The BBC reported a year or more ago that the latest research suggests that supplements can reduce the duration of a cold once you've got it but don't do anything for prevention - my current use of Vit.C follows this, I take on orange juice and citrus fruit when I have a cold and occassionally even have tablets.
Member of the Finnish DOH and an epidemiology expert >>>"Duration of cold episodes that occurred dur
Re: (Score:2)
Next... (Score:5, Funny)
PS: Visit the Pschitt site - the intro's a riot!
Re: (Score:2)
So long as I'm getting my daily minimum of grapes and nuts from Grape Nuts, I don't see the problem...
W
Re: (Score:2)
There is, however, orange juice. I remember the moment I saw this on the can as a kid. It totally ruined the drink for me.
Re: (Score:2)
This is just stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is just stupid (Score:4, Funny)
They discovered that Ribena was only ever consumed when force-fed to children by parents, or to OAPs by their caretakers; no-one was drinking it out of their own free will anymore.
When Schweppes began hinting that they were developing their own water flavoring syrup which wouldn't taste like dentist mouth-wash Ribena corp adopted a policy of aggressively closing the target market.
This is why Ribena is marketed as a teeth friendly drink, containing your daily vitamin-C requirement; Ribena want to give as many children ruined smiles and scurvy as possible. They hope that no-one will notice only Ribena drinkers are getting scurvy, and thus that more people will start drinking vitamin-C rich Ribena in an effort to combat the ensuing scurvy plague.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Obligatory (Score:2)
didja notice the context sensitive ads.. (Score:3, Funny)
I love reading multiple articles (Score:2)
"I think it's good that they at least admitted it and didn't try and say we were still wrong," Jenny [Suo] says.
Article 2: The two girls said they were pleased with the sentence, but thought the company should have been ordered to run TV ads as well, they told the New Zealand Herald.
Kids and parents are more likely to see television ads, [Jenny] Suo said.
I imagine if you read another 3 or 4 articles, various other details will come tog
Sarbanes-Oxley for food content? (Score:2)
Jail time should be automatic for lying.
We need more (Score:5, Insightful)
They should have fined them more. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
How? (Score:2)
Finally we get #2 (Score:2)
2) get scurvy
3) PROFIT!!!!
How did they do it (Score:2)
Any ideas?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Vitamin C is destroyed by air... (Score:4, Informative)
Why did they do it? (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds like a bureaucracy at it's finest.
Re:Only a numpty (most consumers) buy their produc (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
I'd say that time was somewhere BEFORE the production of orange juice. Orange juice is a sugary drink. Yes, it's fruit sugar, but it's still sugar. It's far and away a less beneficial drink than water. And drinking a glass of OJ is not the same as eating an orange, no matter what the OJ producers have tried to make people think. A very small glass of OJ a day is ok, but you'll never hear the OJ industry suggesting you
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
[sugar] increases obesity (stroke, heart disease) and risk of diabetes.
Sugar is a natural part of our diet.
aspartame's real and clear dangers to your health are exactly what?
About 10% of ingested aspartame (by weight) is converted to methanol, which turns into formaldehyde. Our bodies can handle small quantities of formaldehyde, but it's definitely not good for us.
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.
Relat
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (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
in a perfect world (Score:2)
and everyone would use condoms and AIDS would disappear
but we don't live in that world
one thing that exists in reality is called a sweet tooth: we crave sugar, we crave sweets. you may be able to just stop eating sweets, a lot of other people can't
and for them, we can have either a. your holier than thou scorn at their lack of willpower. or b. aspartame
think of aspartame as methadone for the heroin that is sugar, and accept that some h
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
and for them, we can have either a. your holier than thou scorn at their lack of willpower. or b. aspartame
think of aspartame as methadone for the heroin that is sugar, and accept that some humpty dumpties need it, and all of the evils of aspartame you describe is still less evil than continuing to consume sugar
Oh, so now you're changing the debate from "aspartame is harmless" to "aspartame is better than nothing for those that can't control their cravings". Well, that's not true either. It's not a binary choice. Take, for example, stevia [wikipedia.org]. Totally natural, non-carbohydrate sweetener. Currently it's not permitted to be used or sold in the US as anything but a "dietary supplement". Why? It's not patentable. The artificial sweetener industry leaned on the FDA to keep it from killing their cash cow, patented, chem la
Re: (Score:2)
So you can either maintain your craving for sweets and guzzle large amounts of possible carcinogens to get your fix, slip back into excessive sugar usage, or perhaps GET OFF THE SWEETS.
I agree that excessive sugar co
if we lived in an ideal world (Score:2)
but we don't live in that world
therefore, aspartame, with all of its evils, is an acceptable substitute
think of aspartame as methadone for the heroin that is called sugar
in a perfect world, no one would take methadone either, and just snap their fingers, and stop being heroin addicts
but we don't live in a perfect world, so you need to begin to accept the need for aspartame for the humpty dumpties in this worl
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
if you drink enough water (Score:2)
the aymara indians drink coca leaves as a mild nonaddictive stimulant tea
nicotine is an insecticide
aspirin in high enough doses will cause hemorrhage in many organ systems
in low doses, alcohol is good for the heart
etc., etc., etc.
EVERY chemical is a poison
like any chemist will tell you: it's all about the dose, not the chemical
so none of us should take aspirin ever again because if you took a high dose it might cause your liver to hemorrhage?
that's your logic on aspartame
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
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.
sugar causes diabetes (Score:2)
therefore, you can say: sugar causes diabetes. fact
you want to be overly legal about it, and think you have a point to make
a proper analogy to this retarded conversation would be you saying that tobacco doesn't cause lung cancer
huh?
your point would be: tobacco, ignited and inhaled through the lungs over a period of time, increases your r
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm afraid i don't find your earlier comment very "insightful", particularly in view of this latest addition. It seems that what you're actually saying is that you can feel better about your sedentary lifestyle if you drink aspartame based drinks r
Re: (Score:2)
If try to lose weight by any other means you'll be a hell of a lot more disappointed. Doesn't matter which way you look at it, if you want to lose weight you're going to have to burn it off. Or have it surgically removed. And assuming your maths is right, 45 mins running per day should see you lose 1 pound of fat per week, or 52 pounds of fat per year. I'd say that was a *very* discernible effect on weight loss. Especially if y
Re: (Score:2)
the ill effects of aspartame (Score:2)
therefore, yes, coca cola zero is a healthy ALTERNATIVE to regular coca cola
i said, ALTERNATIVE
is coca cola zero healthy? of course not. this is what i said, if you had taken thte time to read my whole 10 second comment:
"the ideal is to stop drinking soft drinks altogether, we both agree to that. but if humpty dumpty is going to have a soft drink no matter what, and wants to choose between regular coke and coca cola zero, i'd rather he be drinking coc
Re: (Score:2)
HA! I don't think you've ever been in a 3rd world country! Some people in less prosperous counties have very good genetics but their tooth quality fades VERY quickly due to lack of fluoride supplementation and lack of funds for quality dental care as well as lack of good dentists. Organic food is GOOD for you and it probably will keep you healthier in the long run but don't confuse this with good dental h
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Not to rain on your parade (Score:2)
But testing for vitamin C is not exactly cutting edge science.
What is in fact amazing about this story is that nobody has ever checked it before, you would expect food safety regulators to actually enforce the mandatorry labels by checking that what is inside them, is inside them.
Not that I ever heard of the drink, is this because the drink is not actually allowed in places were the goverment DOES check the contents of food products?
Why hasn't the NZ goverment found this out before, we know why the US go
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: (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
Testing for vitamin C (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Just look at the GSK work in Africa. They are basically giving away Globorix in a PR campaign to win entry to that market. I seriously doubt such a company would not waste time suing children.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Quoth the maven [wikipedia.org]:
Re:Now If Only Scientific Method Taught USA School (Score:2)
I don't know what the hell you're talking about.