ATLANTA -- Even as Coca-Cola's new "calorie-burning" sparkling green tea Enviga hit store shelves nationwide this week, the Connecticut attorney general's office is demanding the beverage maker prove its calorie-burning claims.
The national rollout follows its launch in New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia in November 2006. Enviga was conceived by Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW), a joint venture of Nestle SA and The Coca-Cola Co.
Enviga is available in three flavorsgreen tea, berry and peachin the ready-to-drink (RTD) [image-nocss] tea section at supermarkets, mass merchandisers, convenience and drug stores and club stores. It is sold in individual 12-oz. sleek cans as well as 6-can and 12-can multi-packs. Suggested retail price for Enviga will be $1.29 to $1.49 per single can.
Providing a blend of green tea extracts ((epigallocatechin gallate, EGCG) and caffeine, "Enviga is designed to work with your body to increase calorie burning, said Dr. Rhona Applebaum, chief scientist at Atlanta-based Coca-Cola. It creates a negative calorie effectin other words, you burn more calories than you get from drinking it. We believe consumers are smart and understand that Enviga is designed to complement, not replace, regular exercise, a sensible diet and other healthy choices they make throughout the day."
The Nestle Research Center (NRC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, has studied the properties and benefits of green tea as part of its extensive global tea business, the company said. A recent study conducted by the University of Lausanne in cooperation with the NRC revealed that consuming the equivalent of three Enviga cans over the course of the day resulted in an increase in calorie burning, it added.
"The accumulated body of scientific research shows that a combination of caffeine and green tea extract high in EGCG invigorates metabolism to gently increase energy use," claimed Nestle researcher Dr. Hilary Green.
Studies have shown that when EGCG and caffeine are present at the levels comparable to that in three cans of Enviga, healthy subjects in the lean to normal weight range can experience an average increase in calorie burning by 60 to 100 calories, said Coca-Cola and Nestle.
EGCG is a naturally occurring antioxidant in tea, including green tea. Enviga provides 90 mg of EGCG in each serving, along with 20% of the daily value for calcium.
"We've seen a shift in consumers' attitudes toward health and wellness, with more consumers seeking product choices that support healthy lifestyles and fit into their daily routine," said Jason Warner, vice president of functional beverages for BPW.
"Enviga brings together Nestle's expertise in nutritional science and extensive knowledge in the benefits of green tea with Coca-Cola's consumer, marketing and distribution resources to create a new global beverage category with consumer benefitsa beverage that allows you to drink negative calories," said Leslie Novos, CEO of BPW.
AG Richard Blumenthal has asked for evidence to support the calorie-burning claims, which he said appear to rely on questionable and "unpublished" studies. He has demanded copies of all scientific studies, clinical trials, tests or papers that support the calorie-burning claims, as well as information about any group that may have sponsored the studies. The companies have been asked to provide this information by next week.
"Unless there are credible scientific studies to support these calorie-burning claims, they may be nothing more than voodoo nutrition," Blumenthal said in a statement. "Promise of wondrous weight loss must be supported by science, not magic. These two reputable companies imperil their own credibility if they exploit the public's perennial impossible dreama magical drink that may be perceived as a substitute for exercise and a balanced diet. The rollout of this product should include legitimate studies substantiating such counterintuitive claims. My office has successfully pursued beverage and snack food companies for unproven claimsproducts that purportedly prevent illnessesand we will do it again, if necessary. 'Drink negative' could become the rallying cry for stronger diet gimmick regulation."
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