ATLANTA, GA – Joe Doyle, Administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs, along with 27 other states and the District of Columbia, announced a settlement with Coke, Nestle and Beverage Partnership Worldwide (BPW) resolving questionable claims that Enviga, a green tea beverage, will burn extra calories resulting in weight loss.

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

In 2007, the attorneys general, led by Connecticut, began an investigation into questionable express and implied claims that drinking Enviga will burn more calories than it contains thereby resulting in weight loss.

Specifically, marketing claims for Enviga purported that consuming three cans in a day would result in increased calorie burning by up to 60 to 100 calories per day. However, the study cited by the companies, known as “Rudelle” ran for only three days and consisted of a small group of normal weight healthy 18-35 year olds.  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 effect 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 as those healthy 18-35 year olds in a controlled setting.

The settlement reached between the state attorneys general and the companies requires that in any marketing of Enviga, or a similarly formulated beverage, that uses the terms “the calorie burner,” “negative calories,” “drink negative,” or makes any claims explicitly or implicitly that consumers will burn calories by drinking Enviga, there must be a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the product does not produce weight loss without diet and exercise.

States participating in this 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, contact Bill Cloud, Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs, at 404-656-3790.