ACCORDING TO USA TODAY1, A New York woman filed a lawsuit this month against Canada Dry®, claiming its ginger ale doesn't contain ginger as advertised.
According to the Canada Dry2, the “ginger ale” contains
- Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Green Tea, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C), Calcium Disodium EDTA (to Protect Flavor)
ON THE OTHER HAND, the Canada Dry container clearly shows that the drink is Made from Real Ginger.
So, does it or doesn’t it contain ginger?
The history of Canada Dry ginger ale harks back to 1907 when, according to ThoughtCo.com,3 John McLaughlin, a Canadian pharmacist, invented the modern Canada Dry version of ginger ale.
- Shall consumers ignore another discrepancy between the Canada Dry label that claims the drink has been around SINCE 1904 while the drink’s history only dates back to 1907? (See image, above; click on image to open in new window.)
Ginger ale is, by some accounts, an import from Ireland. Others4 contend it is an English invention. In any event, it is a variation on a ginger beer recipe.
I am neither a lawyer nor do I play one on tv so I won’t be judgmental in this case.
Canada Dry, the company, is between the hammer and the anvil (a/k/a a rock and a hard place). On the one hand, it clearly states on the container that it is “Made from Real Ginger” but the ingredients don’t specifically list ginger as an ingredient.
Is ginger covered with what this scrivener terms “weasel words,” unidentified “Natural Flavors”?
According to the suit1, the complaint states that
- "Canada Dry Ginger Ale is made from carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, preservatives and 'natural flavors,' i.e., a flavor compound comprised predominately of flavor extracts not derived from ginger, and a minuscule amount of a ginger flavor extract."
How much of “ a minuscule amount of a ginger flavor extract” will it take for a judge to rule for, or against, the defendant?
In Jewish law, which may or may not have any bearing on this case, a quantity of less than 1/60th of the total product it is as if the product had nothing of the ingredient in question. If the product had more than 1/60th, then the ingredient in question counts.
How U.S. Federal law measures the impact of an ingredient, even a minuscule amount likely will pay a major role in the judge’s decision.
What could happen is that the results of the trial (and all the following appeals) could impact products labels – forcing manufacturers to specifically list ALL ingredients by name, even those in “minuscule amounts.”
7Up® also lists “Natural Flavors” in its ingredient’s list.
While ginger apparently has certain medicinal properties5
- Possible health benefits include relieving nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness, and pain. The root or underground stem (rhizome) of the ginger plant can be consumed fresh, powdered, dried as a spice, in oil form, or as juice. Ginger is part of the Zingiberaceae family, alongside cardamom and turmeric
As for this scrivener, I prefer cold, unsweetened tea infused with cloves or plain ol’ water out of the tap.
Sources
1. http://tinyurl.com/y8pqkhzy
2. http://tinyurl.com/ybkwyd33
3. http://tinyurl.com/ybey4tk4
4. http://tinyurl.com/ybpkmjnf
5. http://tinyurl.com/y6vp3n3c
PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.
Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.
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