GSK Consumer Healthcare statement on Ribena

GSK Consumer Healthcare statement on Ribena

27 March 2007: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare has accepted 15 representative charges brought by the Commerce Commission relating to a product claim and Vitamin C content information on Ribena. It is important to highlight that the Ribena range is actually split into two categories, Ribena Syrups (which are diluted by consumers prior to drinking), and Ribena Ready to Drink products.

The Commission's inquiry specifically looked at two matters: - The statement used on all Ribena products that "the blackcurrants in Ribena contain four times the Vitamin C of oranges" - The Vitamin C information on the labels of Ribena Ready to Drink (RTD) products only

Four Times Statement

With regard to the "four times" claim - on a weight for weight basis, the claim that "the blackcurrants in Ribena contain four times the Vitamin C of oranges" is actually factually correct. However we accept the Commission's view that this may have had the potential to mislead some customers. There was never any intention to mislead our customers, however to avoid any potential confusion, we quickly began removing the claim from our packaging and advertising across our entire Ribena range more than a year ago. These actions were completed last year.

Vitamin C Content Statement

With regard to the content statement it is important to highlight that Ribena Syrup products were not part of this content information issue. They are a rich source of Vitamin C.

Only products in the Ready to Drink category were affected by the Commerce Commission concerns about Vitamin C content information. Until the Commerce Commission began its investigation into some Ready to Drink products, GSK was unaware there was an issue with the Vitamin C information on them. As with the 'four times' claim, we took similar prompt action to correct this more than a year ago.

As this matter has been before the courts until now, we have been unable to comment publicly. Since the Commission brought its concerns to our attention, GSK has already:

- Revised all advertising to ensure there were no claims in regard to Vitamin C that could potentially be misleading to consumers

- Modified Ribena labels on the "Ready to Drink" products so that the labels made no reference to Vitamin C

- Implemented a plan to reformulate "Ready to Drink" Ribena products with new methods for testing Vitamin C

GSK is pleased this court case is now complete so we can reassure our customers that any problems with the Ribena RTD products are historical and do not affect the remainder of the range. The fact that some of our products had incorrect labelling is to us, unacceptable, and we sincerely regret any confusion caused to customers who feel they may have been misled.

ENDS

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