Dental body set to drop Ribena
British Dental Association admits food and drink products could lose accreditation in policy review
The British Dental Association (BDA) is considering withdrawing its stamp of approval from products such as GlaxoSmithKline’s Ribena Toothkind drink and Wrigley’s Orbit.
As part of the review of its accreditation process, the professional trade body for dentists is looking at removing its accreditation from all drinks and food products in the future.
Ribena and Orbit are the only food and drink products recognised by the BDA as being “specially formulated” to reduce dental disease. Two years ago, the High Court ruled that Ribena misled consumers by claiming that it “does not encourage tooth decay”.
The BDA plans to phase out its current accreditation process over the next 18 months and to introduce a new “BDA Recommended” logo. Products currently using its accreditation logo will need to alter their packaging to incorporate the new logo.
These products include Colgate Total and Ultra Cavity Protection toothpaste, Macleans toothpaste and Listerine mouth-rinse.
A BDA spokeswoman says: “Food and drinks could go off the list of products we accredit, but that has yet to be decided. The new scheme is being piloted and it will mean that the BDA will look at products actively, rather than waiting for companies to come to us and ask for accreditation.”
Companies pay the BDA for the right to use its logo.
