NZ Girls Force Food Giant To Fess Up

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the maker of Ribena, has been fined $217,500 after admitting it mislead customers about the vitamin C content of the blackcurrant drink. It admitted that its cartoned Ready To Drink Ribena, which it claimed had 7mg of Vitamin C per 100ml, in fact had no detectable Vitamin C content.

The charges arose from an investigation by Pakuranga College students Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo into the vitamin C levels of the popular Ribena drink, which has sales of about $8 million a year. It was the efforts of these two 17 year-old girls who tested the product during a school project that ultimately brought about the serious charges.

Not everyone can perform scientific tests and reform food companies, but you can pay more attention to food labels and to the branding and marketing behind your favorite foods. Don’t be fooled! Look past the packaging and make sure the product is a healthy choice.