FDA Turns Sights to Canada Dry, Unilever

The Food and Drug Administration has warned beverage makers Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc and Unilever for making improper statements regarding green tea on product labels and web sites, Reuters is reporting.

According to Reuters, the FDA sent a letter on Aug. 30 to DPSU telling the company that Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale was misbranded because the product label improperly used the word "enhanced" relating to antioxidants from green tea.

Unilever also improperly promoted a Lipton green tea product with wording that makes it a drug under federal regulations, according to the FDA letter, Reuters reported.

"The therapeutic claims on your web site establish that the product is a drug because it is intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease," the FDA said.

A link to the letters can be found here:

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm224571.htm

and here:

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm224509.htm