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Ohio attorney general reports state will get $29,000 from beverage company

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COLUMBUS -- Coke, Nestle and Beverage Partnership Worldwide will pay $650,000 and will add marketing disclosures to resolve questionable claims that drinking Enviga, a green tea beverage, causes weight loss, according to a settlement announced today by Attorney General Richard Cordray, 26 states and the District of Columbia. Ohio's share of the settlement is $29,000.

"The companies' marketing claims purported that drinking three cans of Enviga a day would burn up to 60 to 100 extra calories per day, leading to weight loss," Cordray said. "But in a study of the product, weight loss occurred only when diet and exercise were involved."

In 2007, the attorneys general began an investigation into the express and implied claims that drinking Enviga burns more calories than it contains, resulting in weight loss. However, the study cited by the companies, known as "Rudelle," was conducted on study participants for only a three-day period and consisted of a small group of healthy 18-35 year olds of normal weight. While a number of study participants did experience some additional calorie burning, they did not experience weight loss. Additionally, Rudelle did not establish that any of the calorie-burning effects could be sustained over time.

The limited results of the Rudelle study and the absence of any evidence that consuming Enviga results in weight loss prompted the attorneys general to question the implication that people in the general population would experience the same calorie burning effects as healthy 18-35 year olds in a controlled setting.

In the settlement, the companies agree to add disclosures to disclaim weight loss benefits of Enviga and any other similarly formulated products. Any marketing of Enviga or a similar beverage that uses the terms "the calorie burner," "negative calories," or "drink negative," or that makes any explicit or implicit claims that consumers will burn calories by drinking Enviga must contain a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the product does not produce weight loss without diet and exercise.

"It's very important that consumers receive accurate, substantiated information in advertisements, and today's agreement helps ensure that they will," Cordray said.

Cordray acknowledged the work of his predecessors, Marc Dann and Nancy H. Rogers, in advancing the case to make the settlement possible.

Joining Ohio in the agreement are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia.

To learn more about this settlement or to report consumer fraud, contact Cordray's Office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or 800-282-0515.