Diet Coke Plus in violation of FDA standards.

Well, at least I'm still getting my daily allotment of aspartame, caramel color, and phosphoric acid. From AdWeek:

Diet Coke Plus was launched in 2006 as “a good source of vitamins B3, B6 and B12, and the minerals zinc and magnesium,” per company press materials.

The letter asserts that the product is “misbranded” because it “bears the nutrient content claim ‘plus’ but does not comply with the regulations governing the use of this claim.”

Coke rep Scott Williamson said, “We take seriously the issues raised by the FDA in its letter. This does not involve any health or safety issues, and we believe the label on Diet Coke Plus complies with FDA's policies and regulations. We will provide a detailed response to the FDA in early January."

The letter adds: “The FDA does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages.” Additionally, it said the product does not state the identity of a “reference food and the percentage” thus it fails to meet the requirements for adding a “plus” claim.

The FDA’s claims are “absolutely ridiculous,” said Bill Sipper, senior partner at Cascadia Consulting, a food and beverage consultancy based in Ramsey, N.J. “They should worry about tracking our beef supply versus tracking the word ‘plus’…Nobody really thinks they are getting their vitamins from Diet Coke.”