For all the 7-Up fans who consume the drink for their daily fix of Vitamin E, now would be a good time to stop.
The drink's producer, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, has dropped the nutrient from several 7-Up varieties. The move comes after a lawsuit that stated the brand misrepresented the benefits of drinking the Vitamin E-infused beverage, according to the Huffington Post.
The group agreed to stop adding vitamin E to some of its drinks and halt claims that the product has antioxidants as part of a settlement with a health advocacy group, the Los Angeles Times reported.
According to the settlement, the company had been infusing small amounts of vitamin E into some of varieties of 7-Up, such as regular and diet Cherry antioxidant, Mixed Berry antioxidant and Pomegranate antioxidant. The firm was sued in November, claiming it was misleading the consumer because it gave the impression the antioxidant comes from fruit rather than added Vitamin E.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed the lawsuit against the drinker maker on behalf of a California man who purchased the drinks with Vitamin E. According to the Huffington Post, the man was not aware that the products contained only a small amount of Vitamin E and did not contain juices from the fruit advertised on the sodas' label.
"Non-diet varieties of 7-Up, like other sugary drinks, promote obesity, diabetes, tooth decay and other serious health problems, and no amount of antioxidants could begin to reduce those risk.," CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said in a November press release. "Adding an antioxidant to a soda is like adding menthol to a cigarette; neither does anything to make an unhealthy product healthy."
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group announced that the removal of antioxidant has nothing to with the lawsuit. Dr. Pepper Snapple Group released the following statement to the Huffington Post:
"CSPI filed its suit against the company in late 2012 after DPS had already begun remaking Cherry 7UP. The company removed the antioxidants to make the formula and label consistent with the 7UP line. The reformulated Cherry 7UP hit the market in early 2013 and will continue to be sold in regular and diet versions. As a result, claims brought by CSPI have been withdrawn. While we disagree with CSPI on the merit and substance of their claim, we both agreed this resolved the matter."
