Connecticut Attorney General's Office
Press Release
Attorney General Announces Settlement Resolving Weight Loss And Calorie-Burning Claims About Enviga
February 26, 2009
Blumenthal, working with Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr., led a coalition of 26 states and the District of Columbia in today's settlement.
The settlement provides more than $100,000 to Connecticut's General Fund.
The companies have agreed to re-label Enviga and any similar product to add disclosures and to disclaim any weight loss benefits. It must 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 claims that drinking Enviga will burn more calories than it contains and implying that consuming the product can lead to weight loss.
"The Enviga lesson is that weight loss requires sound diet and exercise, not simply a concoction of caffeine and green tea," Blumenthal said. "Enviga's calorie-burning claims led to credibility loss more than weight loss. Its new labels must now state clearly that calorie burning and weight loss requires proper diet and exercise.
"Enviga's implied weight loss claims were scientifically weightless -- unsupported by solid evidence. Enviga is no magic potion, capable of cutting pounds without pain.
"The larger message is that pound cutting claims are easy to swallow, but ultimately unsatisfying. Consumers deserve unadulterated truth -- on food product labels as well as contents."
Enviga's marketing claims 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 healthy 18-35 year olds. The short study could not establish that the any calorie burning associated with Enviga could be sustained over time.
The limited results of the Rudelle study -- and the absence of any Enviga-related weight loss evidence -- prompted Blumenthal to question the implication that consumers would generally experience the same calorie burning as those healthy 18-35 year olds in a controlled setting.
Today's settlement 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 today's agreement are: Connecticut, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia.