Posted by kathryn in Myths and Labels & advertising

Ribena manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline have dobbed themselves in to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for misleading advertising. Apparently their claim that ribena contains four times more vitamin C than oranges, is not entirely true. They are already under investigation in New Zealand and will be in court next week facing more than 80 charges relating to misleading claims.

Back in January Choice included ribena in their list of the ten foods that make kids fatter faster. Citing their high sugar content, Choice criticised GlaxoSmithKline for their promotion of ribena as a healthy drink:

It’s been around forever, but now comes in a funky ‘Squee-zee’ pack. And with its much vaunted vitamin C and “no artificial colour, flavour or sweetener”, you might think Ribena is a healthy drink to put in your kid’s lunchbox — especially if you had it when you were a kid and your Mum said it was good for you. But the major ingredients in Ribena are water and sugar; blackcurrant juice comes a very poor third at only 5% (and even then it’s a processed product made from concentrate).

Blackcurrants are high in vitamin C and they are used to make ribena. However with only 5% blackcurrants and a high sugar content, ribena should be relegated to the only occasionally group of foods. It’s certainly not how kids should be getting the majority of their liquid intake.

To make sure your kids are getting enough vitamin C, avoid the ribena and instead:

• put a handful of berries on their cereal in the morning
• squeeze 1 – 2 fresh oranges to go with their breakfast
• slip half a dozen cherry tomatoes into their lunch box as a snack
• after dinner have some fresh fruit and yoghurt
• chop up some red and yellow capsicum sticks and offer it with hummous for a healthy after school snack
• make up smoothies using a mixture of fruit, low fat yoghurt and a smidgeon of honey.

22 March, 2007