GSK fined over nutrition claims

The manufacturer of Ribena has been fined in New Zealand for misleading the public over levels of vitamin C in the drink. GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty to making incorrect health claims, in a case that arose from the discovery by two teenagers in Auckland teenagers that Ribena contains almost no trace of vitamin C. The firm admitted it may have misled consumers in adverts that said blackcurrants in Ribena syrup has four times the vitamin C of oranges. In a written statement after the result, GlaxoSmithKline said: “We are pleased the judge recognised that this was an inadvertent action. It has never been our intention to mislead consumers in Australia and New Zealand, so we moved quickly to amend our advertising, labelling and testing procedures when the issue came to light.”

BBC