There is no Santa Claus, Lassie was played by nine different dogs over the years and, according to a recent lawsuit filed in New York, there isn’t any ginger in Canada Dry Ginger Ale. From
USA Today:
In the federal lawsuit filed July 10 in Buffalo, Julie Fletcher contends that Canada Dry and its parent company, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. are misleading customers. "In truth, DPSG’s soft drink is not made from real ginger," reads the lawsuit filed by Fletcher, who lives in Bolivar, Allegany County. "Instead, Canada Dry Ginger Ale is made from carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, preservatives and 'natural flavors,' i.e., a flavor compound comprised predominately of flavor extracts not derived from ginger, and a minuscule amount of a ginger flavor extract."
Nothing is sacred. Apparently, Fletcher’s beef with the beverage is that she’d been buying it for her kids to drink whenever they got sick, assuming that the ginger in the drink’s name meant there was ginger in its bottle. The vendetta she swore against Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc began when she learned that “…he products that she purchased were not made from real ginger, but were instead made from a minuscule amount of a ginger flavor extract, which does not contain any of the health benefits of real ginger." Oh, the rage. Look, Coca-Cola used to contain cocaine and 7-Up came spiked with lithium citrate up until 1948 (it was originally called
Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda. They, along with ginger ales, were served up as tonics at the soda shops baked into pharmacies back in the
late 19th and early 20th century. I’m of the mind that times change, but brand names don’t. This rates up there with someone suing over their coffee being too damn hot to drink.
Image via Flickr, courtesy of F Delventhal
