Ribena
Encyclopedia
Ribena is a British brand of fruit-based uncarbonated soft drink
, carbonated soft drink
and fruit drink concentrate produced by GlaxoSmithKline
. The original and most common variety contains real blackcurrant
juice.
-based food and drink company HW Carter as a blackcurrant squash
. Development research into pure fruit syrups for the manufacture of milkshake
s had been done at the Long Ashton Agriculture and Horticulture Research Station
in north Somerset
using a pectinase
enzyme process; Ribena was essentially invented there by Dr. Vernon Charley, a scientist at the University of Bristol
. The blackcurrant variety was found to contain high levels of vitamin C
. The drink was launched in 1936 under the name Ribena (from the botanical name for the blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum). During the Second World War
, other fruits rich in vitamin C, like oranges
(from Florida
), became almost impossible to obtain in the United Kingdom, due to the U boat campaign. Blackcurrant cultivation was encouraged by the Government, and the yield of the nation's crop increased significantly. From 1942, almost the entire British blackcurrant crop was made into blackcurrant syrup (or cordial), almost all of it manufactured by Carters, and distributed to the nation's children for free without the Ribena brand name, giving rise to the lasting popularity of blackcurrant flavourings in Britain. Production moved to the new Royal Forest Factory at Coleford
in the Forest of Dean
in the autumn of 1947, where production takes place today. Carters was bought out by the Beecham
company (later to become SmithKline Beecham and later GlaxoSmithKline) in 1955.
There have been various incarnations of carbonated "Sparkling Ribena", sold in cans — throughout the 1980s and early 1990s there was a can-based version simply named "Ribena". In about 1993, "Ribena Spring" was launched, a gently carbonated version in ready to drink bottle form, which was discontinued and replaced with "Ribena Spark", another can-based carbonated edition, in the late 1990s. Ribena Spark was finally discontinued in 2011.
It is claimed in advertisements for Ribena (as well as on their cartons and bottles, and on their web-site) that 95% of all UK and Irish farmed blackcurrants are used in their drinks. This has now been changed to "nearly all of British blackcurrants are used in Ribena". Some of the juice for Ribena is pressed by Somerset
-based cider maker Thatcher's
.
In June 2007, a new raspberry
flavoured Ribena was released; it was discontinued, and was relaunched in 2010.
In April 2008, Ribena released a new product with 100% juice content. According to the company's website, new juices have no sugar addition and contain higher amounts of vitamin C and other antioxidants. However, this product has not proved to be a success, and was discontinued in 2009.
In April 2009, Ribena introduced a strawberry flavour of their highly popular cordial beverage. The "New" label only applies to the drink bottles and cordials; cartons of strawberry Ribena (which do not feature the label) have been in production for years.
A study conducted by the Australian Consumers' Association for Choice magazine
in January 2007 revealed blackcurrant juice only constituted 5% of the product, with the rest being a processed concentrate.
In 2001, a formulation of the diluted Ribena cordial, sold as Ribena Toothkind (and endorsed by the British Dental Association
), was judged by the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority
to have been advertised in a misleading manner, and claims that the drink did not encourage tooth decay should be removed from the packaging. The opinion was upheld by a hearing in the High Court.
in Auckland
, New Zealand
, conducted a science experiment to determine the vitamin C levels of their favourite fruit drinks. As Ribena advertising refers to "four times the vitamin C of oranges", they were surprised to discover the levels of vitamin C were much lower at 22 mg/100ml in the syrup compared with another product, Just Juice, at 72 mg/100ml. After contacting the manufacturers of Ribena, their concerns of "intentionally misleading and quite inappropriate" claims were dismissed, and they were told the claim related only to the blackcurrant fruit, not the product.
Their case was taken up by a television consumer affairs show Fair Go
, which broadcast the story nationwide on TV ONE in October 2004. Following further testing, in March 2007, the New Zealand Commerce Commission
brought 15 charges in the Auckland District Court against GlaxoSmithKline under the Fair Trading Act
. In addition to the misleading representations that the Ribena range "contained four times the vitamin C of oranges" in its advertising and packaging, cartoned ready to drink Ribena falsely claimed on the label to have 7 mg of vitamin C per 100ml or 44 per cent of the recommended daily intake when it had no detectable vitamin C content.
In Australia
, where the same products were on sale, GlaxoSmithKline issued a statement one week before the New Zealand court case confirming labelling discrepancies on its Ready to Drink range to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
, and undertook to remove all references to vitamin C from its labels.
On 27 March 2007, GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty to all 15 charges and was fined NZ$217,500 by Auckland District Court for misleading consumers, and were ordered to run a series of corrective advertisements and place a statement on its website. Since the court case, GlaxoSmithKline has issued a statement on its official Ribena website;
GlaxoSmithKline claims of prompt action and being unaware of the issue appear to be in conflict with the claim of the two high school students to have contacted Ribena manufacturers with their concerns in 2004, and a television broadcast of the story nationwide on TV ONE in October 2004.
GlaxoSmithKline maintains the issue only affects Australia and New Zealand, and Ribena sold in other markets, such as the United Kingdom, contain the levels of vitamin C stated on the product label.
, Rumba Rapids at Thorpe Park
and Berry Bish Bash at Alton Towers
. The contract ended in 2007 and all Ribena logos were removed from the attractions.
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
, carbonated soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
and fruit drink concentrate produced by GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
. The original and most common variety contains real blackcurrant
Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum, is a species of Ribes berry native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia, and is a perennial....
juice.
History
Ribena was originally manufactured by the BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
-based food and drink company HW Carter as a blackcurrant squash
Squash (drink)
Squash is a non-alcoholic concentrated syrup that is usually fruit-flavoured and usually made from fruit juice, water, and sugar or a sugar substitute. Modern squashes may also contain food colouring and additional flavouring...
. Development research into pure fruit syrups for the manufacture of milkshake
Milkshake
A milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce....
s had been done at the Long Ashton Agriculture and Horticulture Research Station
Long Ashton Research Station
Long Ashton Research Station was an agricultural and horticultural government research centre in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK...
in north Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
using a pectinase
Pectinase
Pectinase is a general term for enzymes, such as pectolyase, pectozyme and polygalacturonase, commonly referred to in brewing as pectic enzymes. These break down pectin, a polysaccharide substrate that is found in the cell walls of plants. One of the most studied and widely used commercial...
enzyme process; Ribena was essentially invented there by Dr. Vernon Charley, a scientist at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
. The blackcurrant variety was found to contain high levels of vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
. The drink was launched in 1936 under the name Ribena (from the botanical name for the blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum). During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, other fruits rich in vitamin C, like oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
(from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
), became almost impossible to obtain in the United Kingdom, due to the U boat campaign. Blackcurrant cultivation was encouraged by the Government, and the yield of the nation's crop increased significantly. From 1942, almost the entire British blackcurrant crop was made into blackcurrant syrup (or cordial), almost all of it manufactured by Carters, and distributed to the nation's children for free without the Ribena brand name, giving rise to the lasting popularity of blackcurrant flavourings in Britain. Production moved to the new Royal Forest Factory at Coleford
Coleford, Gloucestershire
Coleford is a small market town in Gloucestershire, England in the west of the Forest of Dean with a population of 8,351 . It is situated some four miles east of the Welsh border, and is close to the Wye Valley, a popular walking and canoeing area...
in the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
in the autumn of 1947, where production takes place today. Carters was bought out by the Beecham
Beecham (pharmaceutical company)
Beecham was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with SmithKline Beckman, merged with GlaxoWellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline .-History:...
company (later to become SmithKline Beecham and later GlaxoSmithKline) in 1955.
There have been various incarnations of carbonated "Sparkling Ribena", sold in cans — throughout the 1980s and early 1990s there was a can-based version simply named "Ribena". In about 1993, "Ribena Spring" was launched, a gently carbonated version in ready to drink bottle form, which was discontinued and replaced with "Ribena Spark", another can-based carbonated edition, in the late 1990s. Ribena Spark was finally discontinued in 2011.
It is claimed in advertisements for Ribena (as well as on their cartons and bottles, and on their web-site) that 95% of all UK and Irish farmed blackcurrants are used in their drinks. This has now been changed to "nearly all of British blackcurrants are used in Ribena". Some of the juice for Ribena is pressed by Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
-based cider maker Thatcher's
Thatcher's Cider
Thatchers Cider is a cider producing company based in Sandford, in North Somerset, England.-History:The founder, William Thatcher, first started making cider for his own farm workers in 1904. As the 20th century went on, he started to sell the ciders to outsiders, and eventually to pubs and clubs...
.
In June 2007, a new raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
flavoured Ribena was released; it was discontinued, and was relaunched in 2010.
In April 2008, Ribena released a new product with 100% juice content. According to the company's website, new juices have no sugar addition and contain higher amounts of vitamin C and other antioxidants. However, this product has not proved to be a success, and was discontinued in 2009.
In April 2009, Ribena introduced a strawberry flavour of their highly popular cordial beverage. The "New" label only applies to the drink bottles and cordials; cartons of strawberry Ribena (which do not feature the label) have been in production for years.
A study conducted by the Australian Consumers' Association for Choice magazine
Choice magazine
CHOICE Magazine is a publication of the Australian Consumers' Association, a non-profit organisation founded in 1959 to research and advocate on behalf of Australian consumers. The organisation trades as CHOICE and is similar to Consumer Reports in the United States...
in January 2007 revealed blackcurrant juice only constituted 5% of the product, with the rest being a processed concentrate.
Sugar content
The Food Commission in the United Kingdom has criticised the sugar levels in regular Ribena, as have several newspapers and publications. Ribena has since launched a low sugar version.In 2001, a formulation of the diluted Ribena cordial, sold as Ribena Toothkind (and endorsed by the British Dental Association
British Dental Association
The British Dental Association is the largest voluntary membership organisation for dentists in the UK.-Structure:The majority of the BDA’s 22,000 members are family dentists, working in general practice providing both National Health Service and private care...
), was judged by the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
to have been advertised in a misleading manner, and claims that the drink did not encourage tooth decay should be removed from the packaging. The opinion was upheld by a hearing in the High Court.
Vitamin C content
In 2004, Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo, two high school students from Pakuranga CollegePakuranga College
Pakuranga College is a secondary school in east Auckland, New Zealand. Since mid-2009, the current principal has been Michael Williams, following the departure of former principal Heather McRae to Diocesan School for Girls.-History:...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, conducted a science experiment to determine the vitamin C levels of their favourite fruit drinks. As Ribena advertising refers to "four times the vitamin C of oranges", they were surprised to discover the levels of vitamin C were much lower at 22 mg/100ml in the syrup compared with another product, Just Juice, at 72 mg/100ml. After contacting the manufacturers of Ribena, their concerns of "intentionally misleading and quite inappropriate" claims were dismissed, and they were told the claim related only to the blackcurrant fruit, not the product.
Their case was taken up by a television consumer affairs show Fair Go
Fair Go
Fair Go is a New Zealand consumer affairs television program now co-hosted by Gordon Harcourt and Alison Mau. First aired in 1977, it is one of New Zealand's longest-running and highest-rated programmes, frequently placed high in the New Zealand TV Guide list of most viewed programs.Fair Go...
, which broadcast the story nationwide on TV ONE in October 2004. Following further testing, in March 2007, the New Zealand Commerce Commission
Commerce Commission
The Commerce Commission is a New Zealand government agency charged with enforcing legislation that promotes competition in the country's markets and prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct by traders...
brought 15 charges in the Auckland District Court against GlaxoSmithKline under the Fair Trading Act
Fair Trading Act 1986
The Fair Trading Act 1986 is a statute of New Zealand. Its purpose is to encourage competition and to protect consumers from misleading and deceptive conduct and unfair trade practices.The Fair Trading Act provides for consumer information standards....
. In addition to the misleading representations that the Ribena range "contained four times the vitamin C of oranges" in its advertising and packaging, cartoned ready to drink Ribena falsely claimed on the label to have 7 mg of vitamin C per 100ml or 44 per cent of the recommended daily intake when it had no detectable vitamin C content.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where the same products were on sale, GlaxoSmithKline issued a statement one week before the New Zealand court case confirming labelling discrepancies on its Ready to Drink range to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent authority of the Australia government. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974...
, and undertook to remove all references to vitamin C from its labels.
On 27 March 2007, GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty to all 15 charges and was fined NZ$217,500 by Auckland District Court for misleading consumers, and were ordered to run a series of corrective advertisements and place a statement on its website. Since the court case, GlaxoSmithKline has issued a statement on its official Ribena website;
GlaxoSmithKline claims of prompt action and being unaware of the issue appear to be in conflict with the claim of the two high school students to have contacted Ribena manufacturers with their concerns in 2004, and a television broadcast of the story nationwide on TV ONE in October 2004.
GlaxoSmithKline maintains the issue only affects Australia and New Zealand, and Ribena sold in other markets, such as the United Kingdom, contain the levels of vitamin C stated on the product label.
Sponsors
Ribena has sponsored a few theme park attractions. These include Berry Bouncers at Chessington World of AdventuresChessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park and zoo in South West London, England. It lies south of Central London. Historically opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, a theme park was developed alongside it, opening in 1987...
, Rumba Rapids at Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It was built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded, the intention of creating a water based theme for the park. The park's first large roller coaster, Colossus, was added in 2002...
and Berry Bish Bash at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
. The contract ended in 2007 and all Ribena logos were removed from the attractions.
External links
- Official site
- How they make Ribena
- Official Australian site
- ribena.co.nz New Zealand official website, containing a media statement about the Vitamin C court case
- Ribena Misleader? A REPUTATION in tatters
- Ribena & lack of vitamin C... 'C' for CREDIBILITY?
- Reviews at Ciao!
- Reviews at DooYoo
- Ribena in court
- Article about misleading Vitamin C content of Ribena
- The Ribena story on Pakuranga College Paknet