The Ginger Ale Brand That Has Been In A Surprising Amount Of Legal Trouble

Ginger ale is the oldest soda in America, and the most renowned name is Canada Dry. Since 1904, this brand has been known for its crisp, caffeine-free ginger soda that can be enjoyed on its own or as the perfect cocktail mixer. It might be a treat, but have you ever noticed the distinct lack of ... ginger? For instance, ginger in tea and cold-pressed juices often has a strong taste that opens up the sinuses, but ginger ale doesn't have that effect. It's not just the sugar — Canada Dry has less than 2% of ginger extract in its product.

It'd be more accurate to compare ginger ale to lemon-lime sodas like Sprite, which have pretty much all the same ingredients like citric acid, carbonated water, and high fructose corn syrup. It wasn't always this way. Vintage bottles of Canada Dry indicated the use of real sugar and ginger in the recipe. Unfortunately for the company, consumers noticed the lack of ginger in the modern product, and it cost them some big bucks. There have been multiple class-action lawsuits filed against Canada Dry for concerns regarding false or misleading advertisements.

Plaintiffs of a 2018 class action settlement, George, et al. v. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., alleged that Canada Dry's "Made from Real Ginger" label was misleading because the product contained less than 2 parts per million of a ginger flavor extract. At the same time, a Fitzhenry-Russell, et al. v. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. case helped to argue that Canada Dry led the plaintiffs to spend money they wouldn't have spent otherwise — thinking that they were getting the health benefits of ginger root for drinking ginger ale "Made from Real Ginger."

Keurig Dr Pepper was innocent of claiming its product had ginger-related health benefits, but it was guilty of misleading advertising because there wasn't enough ginger in the product to constitute the "Made from Real Ginger" label. The court ordered that this statement be removed from all Canada Dry cans, but phrases like "real" or "natural" ginger could be used as long as words like "taste," "extract," or "flavor" followed. Simply put, Canada Dry contains ginger extract, not plain ginger.

A 2024 lawsuit aimed to tackle Canada Dry for its labeling once again, this time bringing in Schweppes, too. The FDA orders that artificially flavored products must state that they're artificially flavored in clear sight on the label. Plaintiffs in Elliot v. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. alleged that they lost money in paying a premium price for a product they were unaware had artificial ingredients. Perhaps we'll spot some new Canada Dry labels out there soon!