GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Ribena faces a court case on Tuesday for allegedly misleading advertising after two high school students found its popular blackcurrant drink contained almost no vitamin C.

The students, 14 year old Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo tested the drink in 2004 was surprised when the are no noticeable trace of vitamin C in the drinks. In their advertisement, the company claimed that Ribena has four times more vitamin C than oranges.

“We thought we were doing it wrong, we thought we must have made a mistake,” Devathasan, told New Zealand newspapers of her school experiment.

When a complain was lodged, the drink maker, GSK paid little attention to the claims of the students. However, when the news was broken to the New Zealand’s Commerce Commission, an investigation followed suit.

It was reported that 15 charges related to misleading advertising has been lodged against the company, risking potential fines of up to NZ$3 million.

GSK has a worldwide turnover of more than $61 billion, second only to drug giant Pfizer.

Update: Today (27 March 07) GlaxoSmithKline, the multi-national company that makes Ribena has been fined a total of $NZ217,500 ($A192,900) after it admitted its advertisements misled the public about the drink’s vitamin C content.

Reuter News: No Vitamin C in Ribena
NZHerald: What happened when the girls contacted the company

Children's National Medical Center, US (26 Nov) - A lot of parents were shocked when fruit juices were blamed for obesity among children.

Unfortunately, printed media which were responsible for reporting the findings had misled the public by not stating that such effects were found only on commercial juices and not freshly prepared juice.

Two new studies, published in the journal Pediatrics, had confirmed that there is no connection between children's' weight and consuming reasonable amounts of pure fruit juice.

One of the studies, from Baylor College of Medicine, concluded that after several years of studies from a national sample of preschoolers; consumption of 100-percent juices has no weight effect.

The other study, also published in Pediatrics, found there was no connection between juice consumption and body weight among normal weight children.

Advising parents to omit sugar from their juices, the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines have also recommended a daily juice level consumption for children.

It is recommended that you serve 1/2 cup juice for children 1 to 5 years old and 1 and 1/2 cups juice for older children.

Washington, US (Nov 28 ) - Pamela Anderson has declared war on juicemaker POM, urging her fans to adopt NAKED juices instead.

Citing animal testing as the reason to her condemning POM juices, skeptics are questioning her preference for NAKED, which was recently bought by PepsiCo in Nov 22 for around $45 million.

The porn star turned animal activists said, “We discovered that in one experiment that POM funded, mother mice were fed POM juice and their week-old babies were locked in a chamber with almost no oxygen for 45 minutes, causing severe brain damage. ”

Apart from that experiment, she claimed that the “..rabbits’ arteries were severed to make them impotent. The rabbits were then fed POM juice to study erectile dysfunction”.

In retaliation, the company, POM Wonderful boldly said: “[W]e do choose to fund [animal] research …. We are not ashamed of this fact.”

Editor’s note: At Djuicer, we believe both sides are plain wrong. Pam should’ve urged her fans to go for freshly squeezed juice instead and POM should be ashamed of cruel animal testing of it’s juices.

Are there any money hidden motives for PAM supporting NAKED juices? Let’s wait and see.

Toronto, CANADA (Oct 11) - Toxic carrot juice manufactured by Bolthouse Farms, California had paralyzed two residents, Toronto Public Health confirmed.

The juices was contaminated with botulism and has been recalled from the shelves voluntarily by the manufacturer. Standing behind their products, the company spokesman said they believed the juices were not stored properly.

Considered a serious medical emergency, botulism can cause nausea, fatigue, paralysis and respiratory failure. In some cases, it can lead to death.

Botulism from food is rare but poisoning generally occurs from the use of improperly bottled or canned foods.

Editor's Note: Contaminated juices manufactured are already full of preservatives, some may not look or even smell like it has spoiled.

Thus, always choose freshly squeezed juice. If there's none, pick plain water instead.

Science eStore (November 10) - We went to buy the fruit powered clock today and was surprised that it was out of stock!

 The cool invention was on sale at Science eStore and is currently slashed to $14.99 from it's original price of $19.99.

 The digital clock is powered by any fruits, utilizing science principle on which all modern batteries are based.

We know it wouldn't lasts long, and our oranges are better used to feed our thirst. The thing is, this gadget will be so cool for the kitchen.

Okay, let's wait for another week before we visit the store again.

+ Fruit Powered Clock at Science eStore 

Nashville, TENN (31 August 2006) - A juice a day may keep Alzheimer away, says a team of researchers.

Appeared in the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine, a study headed by Dr. Qi Dai, an assistant professor of Medicine found that people who drank three or more servings of fruit and vegetable juices per week had a 76 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who drank juice less than once per week.

At first the researchers thought the reason for this effect is vitamin but after a detailed investigation said another class of antioxidant chemicals, known as polyphenols, could be the reason.

This special anti-oxidant exists in the skin of fruits and is believed to be able to extend one's lifespan and reduce chances of Alzheimer.

The researchers are currently studying to see if there's a specific juice that reduces the risk.  

[eminimalls] 

Los Angeles, CA (Nov 20 2006) - Natalie Cole today disclosed to reporters her secret to staying thin. The daughter of legendary singer, Nat King Cole said she used a juicer to keep fit and slim.

According to StarPulse.com, she said, "I was drinking 12 ounces a day, which is pretty powerful. I had to cut back a little but it keeps my weight down. It's great for your liver, it's great for energy, it's great for blood pressure… I was just amazed at the difference it made in just a week."

Instead of reaching for snacks, Natalie Cole reach for her juicers to keep her fit and healthy. Now, how about you?