KEY POINTS:
Watchdogs have blasted the contents of a new Coca-Cola product and claimed the packaging is "misleading".
Glaceau Vitaminwater, described on the label as a "formulated beverage", contains 27g of sugar per 500ml bottle, more than half that found in the same amount of full-strength Coke.
The Vitaminwater
range, which contains 15 flavours, is the subject of a US lawsuit.
The Centre for Science in the Public Interest is arguing it contains less than 1 per cent fruit juice, even though flavours include "endurance peach mango", "focus kiwi strawberry" and "xxx blueberry pomegranate acai".
The group says the drinks comprise mainly water, food acids, sugars such as fructose and sucrose, colourings and flavourings.
Consumer New Zealand research manager Belinda Allan said the packaging was misleading because the drink was being marketed as a water. That could confuse people, with bottled water and flavoured water drinks becoming an increasingly popular alternative to carbonated soft drinks.
"If you take the drink at face value you wouldn't expect sugar to be in there because it says it's a water, and water is something with no kilojoules and no sugar," said Allan.
"When you buy it you'd expect a water with coloured flavouring, not a water with coloured flavouring and a heaping of sugar that equates to around six teaspoons."
Dentist Joanne Tucker of Auckland's Dental Care West said she sees many children and adults needing teeth removed thanks to sugar damage, and soft drinks were the main culprit.
"Anything with sugar in it - even a water like this - will damage your teeth."
The centre says Coke is marketing Vitaminwater as a "healthful alternative to soda by labelling its several flavours with health buzzwords. The sugars in each bottle do more to promote obesity, diabetes and other health problems than the vitamins in the drink do to perform the advertised benefits listed on the bottles."
Coca-Cola Oceania spokeswoman Karen Bradshaw said Vitaminwater is not marketed as a health drink or a health supplement and sits in the new "lifestyle drink" category alongside the Australian Nutrient Water range.
"The amount of sugar in one 500ml bottle equates to about half of that in a normal soft drink," she said.
Allan said it was important to read the labels of new products and be wary of what "healthy drinks" may contain.
The Commerce Commission, which regulates labelling on food and drink, has not received any complaints about Vitaminwater but last month a New Zealand bottled water company was fined $250,000 at the Auckland District Court for selling purified tap water as "energised mineral water".
The commission prosecuted Big Blue for making false claims about its Energy Distilled Water and Energised Mineral Water.
Commission tests revealed the tap water had been de-mineralised by reverse osmosis to purify the water, and re-mineralised using artificial minerals from South Korea.
