Canada Dry Sued Over 'Real Ginger' Slogan

Plaintiff said he thought drink had health benefits
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 30, 2020 3:17 AM CDT
Canada Dry Pays $150K to Settle 'Real Ginger' Lawsuit
The lawsuit argued that Canada Dry tried to capitalize on perceptions of ginger's health benefits.   (Wikipedia/Laszlo Burdi/Beyond My Ken)

The health benefits of ginger have been known for thousands of years—but you're not going to get many of them from a can of Canada Dry ginger ale, despite its claim to be "Made With Real Ginger." The soft drink's maker has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by a British Columbia man who said he had bought the drink for his family for years because he believed it was healthy, Global News reports. He argued that the company's advertising was false and the drink contained no ginger. Under the settlement, Canada Dry Mott's Inc will not be required to change "to change its product labeling or advertising for products marketed in Canada."

The court's decision noted that plaintiff Victor Cardoso conceded that the drink contains "small amounts of ginger derivatives." "They do buy actual ginger, but then what they do is they boil it in ethanol, and that essentially destroys any nutritional or medicinal benefits," attorney Mark Canofari tells CTV. He says the ginger is turned into a concentrate used so sparsely that "one drop fills 70 cans." Under the settlement, Cardoso and another plaintiff will receive $1,125 each. The rest of the settlement, minus legal fees, will go to the BC Law Foundation, which Canofari describes as "a nonprofit organization that does all sorts of good work." He says Cardoso is satisfied with the settlement. The company removed the "Made With Real Ginger" slogan from its cans in the US after similar lawsuits. (More Canada stories.)

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