Press Release

Attorneys General Announce Settlement Resolving Enviga Weight Loss and Calorie-Burning Claims

February 26, 2009

(Anchorage, Alaska) Acting Attorney General Richard Svobodny, with 26 other states and the District of Columbia, announced today a settlement with Coke, Nestle, and Beverage Partnership Worldwide resolving advertising claims that Enviga, a green tea beverage, will burn extra calories resulting in weight loss.

The companies agreed to add disclosures to Enviga, and any similarly formulated product, to disclaim weight loss benefits and make clear that weight loss is only possible through diet and exercise. The companies will also pay $650,000 to the states.

In 2007, the states, led by Connecticut, began an investigation into express and implied claims that drinking Enviga will burn more calories than it contains, thereby resulting in weight loss. Advertisements for Engiva claimed that consuming three cans in a day would result in increased calorie burning by up to 60 to 100 calories per day.

The companies cited a study, known as the Rudelle study, in support of this claim. While a number of study participants did experience some additional calorie burning, they did not experience weight loss, and the study did not establish that any of the calorie-burning effect could be sustained over time. Also, the study ran for only three days and consisted of a small group of normal weight, healthy 18- to 35-year olds. The limited results of the Rudelle study -- and the absence of any evidence that consuming Enivga resulted in weight loss -- prompted the attorneys general to question the implication that people in the general population would experience the same calorie burning as healthy 18- to 35-year olds in a controlled setting.

States participating in today's 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, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia.

For more information about the settlement, please contact Assistant Attorney General Cynthia Drinkwater at (907) 269-5200.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.