EPR Editorial Team5 min read
Canada Dry's 2010 run-in with the FDA was a warning letter about label claims, not a recall. On August 30, 2010, the FDA told Dr Pepper Snapple Group that the "enhanced with 200 mg of antioxidants from green tea and vitamin C" claim on Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale did not meet federal rules. A similar letter went to Unilever over Lipton Green Tea on August 23. Both companies were asked to respond within 15 days.
By EPR Editorial Team. Updated October 2026.
The 2010 action was a labeling enforcement matter. The FDA objected to what the label claimed, not to the safety of the drink, and the coverage reviewed for this article describes no recall. No recall of Canada Dry ginger ale turned up in the sources checked for this October 2026 update. For current notices, check the FDA's recall database and the brand's own announcements.
Canada Dry did face a separate labeling dispute later. In the United States, the "Made from Real Ginger" claim was removed from packaging following a class-action settlement in 2019. That case concerned advertising claims, not product safety, and it is a different matter from the 2010 FDA letter.
Canada Dry (August 30, 2010). The FDA wrote to Dr Pepper Snapple Group about Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale. The agency said the antioxidant claim did not meet federal requirements, that the ingredients cited are not nutrients with recognized antioxidant activity, and that it does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages. The letter also said the label lacked the reference-food comparison required for "more" nutrient claims.
Lipton (August 23, 2010). The FDA wrote to Unilever about Lipton Green Tea 100% Natural Naturally Decaffeinated. The letter focused on the Lipton website, which cited four studies on tea and cholesterol. The FDA said those therapeutic claims made the product an unapproved "new drug." It also objected to antioxidant claims on the label.
A Dr Pepper Snapple spokesperson said the company looked forward to working with the FDA and addressing the issues raised. The case ended as a labeling correction, not a product withdrawal.
A warning letter is a public document, and news travels fast once it is posted. The Associated Press and Reuters reported the Canada Dry and Lipton letters on September 7, 2010, about a week after the first was dated, and trade outlets including BevNet and Nutritional Outlook followed. Those stories still surface in search for the brand years later.
The 15-day response window is short compared with most legal and communications approval cycles, which is why brands that have not planned for it tend to handle the first days poorly.
On September 9, 2019, the FDA sent JUUL Labs a warning letter for marketing its products as modified risk tobacco products without an FDA order permitting it. The letter cited statements made by JUUL representatives, including that the product was "much safer than cigarettes," and a presentation given to students at a school. The FDA sent a companion letter asking for more information about JUUL's outreach and marketing, including to students, tribes, health insurers and employers. JUUL said it would fully cooperate.
The contrast with Canada Dry is useful. The 2010 letters concerned what a label and a website claimed about a beverage. The 2019 letter concerned what company representatives said to young people, and it landed in the middle of a public debate about youth vaping.
For related cases, see the Tylenol crisis of 1982, the product recall communications sequence and PR in regulated industries.
No recall is described in the coverage of the 2010 FDA action. The agency sent a warning letter on August 30, 2010 about the antioxidant claim on Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale.
The FDA said the label's "enhanced with 200 mg of antioxidants from green tea and vitamin C" claim did not meet federal requirements for nutrient content claims, and that it does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages.
In an August 23, 2010 letter to Unilever, the FDA said the Lipton website's references to cholesterol studies made the green tea an unapproved new drug, and objected to antioxidant claims on the label.
It was dated September 9, 2019 and said JUUL marketed its products as modified risk tobacco products without an FDA order. It cited statements such as "much safer than cigarettes," including in a presentation to students.
In the United States, the "Made from Real Ginger" claim was removed after a 2019 class-action settlement. That was an advertising dispute separate from the 2010 FDA letter.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
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