Man sues Canada Dry for not having enough ginger in its ginger ale.

"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
11/02/2020 at 19:48 • Filed to: Guess I should switch to Schwepps?

Pictured: a ginger, none of which is found in Canada Dry, in spite of him living there

Found !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! over at The Takeout. This man sued Canada Dry for saying that the soda claims it’s made with real ginger, but it’s not enough to bring any of the reputed health benefits of ginger, and so the marketing is therefore misleading.

I was not aware that anyone was drinking ginger ale as a health tonic, nor that was it marketed as such. Were you? The commenters over there ( a generally more level-headed lot than your usual internet group) seem to think this all a silly thing to sue over.

Anyway, the suit was settled, and some of the $200k pittance got donated to charity. So, at least there’s that.

DISCUSSION (53)

Svend > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:08

The stupid thing is, Canada Dry say they use real ginger, they do.

But it’s not enough for the person suing the company.

SO BUY A F**KING GINGER ALE THAT DOES!!!

Buy a load of FeverTree ginger ale or something.

Chariotoflove > Svend
11/02/2020 at 20:10

Yeah, after reading the article, I had a hard time figuring out the grounds for suit. I figure it was just a nuisance publicity suit, and the settlement was to pay the lawyers to go away.

DipodomysDeserti > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:13

I buy ginger brews to use as “health tonics”, but I would never buy Canada Dry for such a purpose. Ginger has natural anti inflammatory properties and is loaded with antioxidants. I usually just eat the straight root, but sometimes you need a good ginger brew. Sometimes I’ll just grind up straight ginger and take a shot of it.

Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:17

It’s very bizarre case because typically the Canadaland courts usually throw out such lawsuits or no one is brave enough to endure the ridicule and jokes that we throw at such hosers.

krustywantout > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:19

For the real deal try:

https://www.maineroot.com/ginger-brew

https://www.drinkharmonysprings.com

After you try their's, there is no going back to the mass produced swill.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:22

some people need to be taken out and shot.

Milky > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:26

We are products of our environments.

Kinja'd!!!

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:34

The real question: Ginger, or Mary Ann ?

( I’m all about the ginger lasses, myself. Real or from a dye job, doesn’t matter. )

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Svend
11/02/2020 at 20:34

interstate366, now In The Industry > Milky
11/02/2020 at 20:36

Ale-8 > Vernors. And no, I’m not from Kentucky.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > krustywantout
11/02/2020 at 20:36

Maine Root makes some exceptional sodas; I’m not familiar with the other.

smobgirl > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:37

T he irritating thing about this is the number of nurses who kept giving me - you guessed it - Canada Dry every time I puked in the hospital after anesthesia: “Drink ginger ale, it’ll help settle your stomach!” Nope. Possibly real ginger might have helped but absolutely none of the antiemetics have an effect on anesthesia-induced vomiting and any drink they pushed on me all came right back up. I tried to aim for the bucket most of the time but one of the nurses was rude to me too many times.

krustywantout > Dead_Elvis, Inc.
11/02/2020 at 20:43

It’s local company that does amazing sodas. Their birch beer and sarsaparilla are the best, even better than Maine Root.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:46

Now I want a dark & stormy, but I don't have any ginger beer!

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > krustywantout
11/02/2020 at 20:47

I’ll have to look for it if I ever get to New England again whenever I next visit my folks in southern Vermont.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > pip bip - choose Corrour
11/02/2020 at 20:49

Enough about US politics, we’re talking about gingers!

barnie > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 20:58

Yea, sounds like a win, win, win in our society. Dude got publicity, lawyers got paid and a charity got some funding. ‘MURICA! oh wait...

sony1492 > smobgirl
11/02/2020 at 21:01

I feel like we are missing some plot details that led to weaponized vomit

Chariotoflove > barnie
11/02/2020 at 21:01

That was good for a chuckle.

Chariotoflove > Milky
11/02/2020 at 21:02

This is also news to me. I always thought of Vernors as just okay.

Chariotoflove > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com
11/02/2020 at 21:03

That’s something that kinda surprised me too.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 21:07

I don’t know if anyone saw the commercials, but they were really playing up the whole “real ginger” thing in a big way. As if the bottle of ginger ale were coming straight out of the ground. Someone inclined to choose a healthier soft drink might have discerned from those commercials that they may have been actually getting some sort of health benefit from the supposed ginger content . After all, ginger ale has been a home remedy for tummy aches for as long as it’s existed. Kind of a stupid law suit, all considered, but at the same time it’s good to keep ‘ em truthful.

Fwiw in Canada they just gave up some hush money and get to keep making the claims. In the US they were forced to change the marketing iirc.

Svend > barnie
11/02/2020 at 21:08

Yep, it’s been happening for while in the U.K. a dopting some of the U.S. cultures of frivolous lawsuits, now Canada. Urghhhh.

A British comedian joked that when he visited America he adopted the American way, ‘after visiting a shop, the cashier said, ‘have a nice day!’, but I didn’t, so I sued her’.

Chariotoflove > smobgirl
11/02/2020 at 21:09

It’s usually Sprite or 7up, but I guess ginger ale fits the category. It’s a common way to get fluids and a little sugar without caffeine into someone who has been throwing up to help them rehydrate (dehydration makes the nausea worse). But your stomach mad to be able to hold it down, otherwise it’s useless. I’m surprised they didn’t give you an IV and leave you alone. That sucks.

ranwhenparked > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 21:10

How on earth did he prove that Canada Dry containing somewhat less ginger than he initially assumed had caused him personal losses or damages of $200,000? Did Canada Dry set fire to his house?

I just realized that Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray only contains celery extract as the 4th ingredient, despite being named after it. That ought to be worth at least $50k, right? They know how to get in touch with me, write a check now, and I won’t sue.

Chariotoflove > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
11/02/2020 at 21:12

Yeah I read that. Thing is, I don’t think it’s the ginger that makes it useful for your tummy. Most of the time, we’ve always been given sprite or 7up. I think if people are buying soda as a health remedy, then they need more education.

Chariotoflove > krustywantout
11/02/2020 at 21:12

Never heard of those. Thanks.

Chariotoflove > DipodomysDeserti
11/02/2020 at 21:13

Yeah, I think if that’s the intended use, buying mass market soda probably isn’t the best bet.

Chariotoflove > Dead_Elvis, Inc.
11/02/2020 at 21:15

This really is the question. And over the years I’ve come to the conclusion

Kinja'd!!!

Chariotoflove > ranwhenparked
11/02/2020 at 21:17

I was a little baffled too. Perhaps they settled before it got to a judge to avoid bad publicity? Is that a thing in Canada?

Milky > interstate366, now In The Industry
11/02/2020 at 21:21

I haven’t heard of it, therefore I’m assuming it’s local ... waitaminute I bet you ARE from Kentucky.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 21:22

You’re not wrong about buying soda for health benefits, not the best option, by far. Ginger does have some medicinal value though. A ny reasonable but unwitting person who saw those commercials might expect there to be an appreciable amount of the stuff in the product based on the way it was marketed. Obviously bottles and soda machines aren’t springing from the ground, despite the advertisement, but the way it was marketed would lead one to believe there were more than simply trace amounts in there.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Milky
11/02/2020 at 21:30

Nope. My weird local ginger ale is called Northern Neck.

Milky > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 21:30

“ GET THE VERNOR’S, MY GUTS ARE GOIN NUTS”

- Detroiters (tv show)

Milky > interstate366, now In The Industry
11/02/2020 at 21:32

I feel duped

Chariotoflove > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
11/02/2020 at 21:34

See, I always thought that marketing to let people know how much wonderful ginger flavor was in there. I never imagined there was even an implication about health benefits.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 21:35

Sometimes, greed IS good!

Chariotoflove > Milky
11/02/2020 at 21:38

Huh never saw that

Chariotoflove > Dead_Elvis, Inc.
11/02/2020 at 21:41

As long as each of them gets equal time. Need to be fair.

DipodomysDeserti > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 21:43

Yeah, the immense amount of sugar tends to counteract any ginger content.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 21:45

I never got the impression they were marketing it for it’s health benefits either, but they were definitely pushing the whole real ginger angle. I could see how someone might mistakenly assume it might offer some of the benefits of real ginger. Or at the very least be a healthier option than one of the competing products sitting next to it on the shelf. Then again no one is expecting orange or grape soda to to be health food. Or maybe there are some. People are generally idiots.

barnie > smobgirl
11/02/2020 at 22:16

As a little kid, I’d get tonsillitis 4, 5 tim es a year. Saltines, tapioca and ginger ale (Mom used Schweppes ) for a week was all I could keep down. Tapioca and rice pudding make me gag, Saltines and various rea l ginger ales are delicious today .

Jb boin > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 22:21

It’s false advertising, there is less than a drop of ginger per bottle and they advertise it as ginger ale.

It’s like buying a car advertised as an electric car ... because it would have a 12v battery .

Chariotoflove > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
11/02/2020 at 22:32

People are naturally hungry for ways to exercise some control over the chaos of life, I think. That’s why I think a good science education is critical in today’s society. Without it, people become too susceptible to superstition. That’s my working theory anyway.

Chariotoflove > Jb boin
11/02/2020 at 22:35

Well it does have real ginger. It’s concentrated extract, but a very small amount. It is real and I can taste it though.

smobgirl > sony1492
11/02/2020 at 23:06

I’m just one of those people who has a terrible reaction to anesthesia. Plus I can “smell” a saline rinse in an IV so when they inject meds it also triggers more nausea. It’s a blast.

smobgirl > Chariotoflove
11/02/2020 at 23:16

Yeah, pedialyte or something might have been a better choice but considering I had an IV already I don’t know why they kept forcing the issue. Or maybe sneak me some real ginger since the medicines wouldn’t work.

I had one doc who was SUPER concerned I hadn’t pooped after a few days (I mean, it was back surgery so I guess they thought they’d damaged something) but couldn’t fathom that I hadn’t kept anything down long enough to pass through. I didn’t puke on him though!

smobgirl > barnie
11/02/2020 at 23:18

Real ginger ale is soooooo good . And that’s a LOT of tonsillitis! Even my younger brother had his removed from much less than that. Sounds miserable.

Chariotoflove > smobgirl
11/02/2020 at 23:32

Yeah, they always want to hear of you passing gas at least. My wife told me it’s because anesthesia paralyses the gut, and passing something, even if only gas, means function is coming back.

And very few things feel worse than dry heaves. That sucks that you had to endure that.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > Chariotoflove
11/03/2020 at 01:14

Very true!

And with that, I gotta tap out, before this gets too gross.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Chariotoflove
11/03/2020 at 04:52

I don’t know if it has more ginger than the regular variety; i t tastes like it does but it’s not as much as a proper ginger beer. As an affordable grocery store find it’s not bad if you want a bit more bite.

Kinja'd!!!

Chariotoflove > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
11/03/2020 at 10:37

Cool. It occurs to me that regular ginger ale might not appeal to the American palate if there were significantly more ginger in it. It may not be just a money saving move in their part.

barnie > smobgirl
11/03/2020 at 22:20

Yea. Doc Hardy said to Mom, “One more time and we’re taking them out.” Mon had her’s (with adenoids ) removed young and didn’t like the results so she was against removing mine. And I didn’t have it again until my 30s. Now I get inflamed tonsils once a year for 4 days in the deep winter. Friends bring soups and treats. I can deal with this. :)