CHICAGO--The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned beverage makers Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc and Unilever Group about making improper statements regarding green tea on product labels and web sites.
In a letter dated Aug. 30 and released on Tuesday, the regulator said Dr Pepper's Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale was misbranded because the product label improperly used the word "enhanced" relating to antioxidants from green tea.
"We received the FDA's letter today and are reviewing its contents," a Dr Pepper spokesman said. "We look forward to working with the FDA and addressing the issues raised."
In a letter dated Aug. 23 and released on Tuesday, the FDA said Unilever improperly promoted a Lipton green tea product with wording that would make it a drug under federal regulations. The promotion cited studies showing that tea lowers cholesterol.
"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.
It also said Lipton made unauthorized nutrient claims for the tea. "We are carefully reviewing the contents of the letter and are committed to full compliance with the law," a Unilever spokesman said.