Gas blew Ribena off shop shelves: [1 Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 10 May 2001: 3.
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SO what exactly has happened to all the Ribena? Supermarket shelves have been bare of the blackcurrant drink since supplies dried up in March and “Temporarily unavailable” stickers appeared where the bottles and packs used to be.
The shortage was sparked when GlaxoSmithKline altered the specifications for the drink, which is made by Cadbury-Schweppes with blackcurrants from New Zealand. The problem was that there had been yeast in the drink. GlaxoSmithKline spokesman Kevin Darke said it was an environmental issue that needed clarification.
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SO what exactly has happened to all the Ribena? Supermarket shelves have been bare of the blackcurrant drink since supplies dried up in March and “Temporarily unavailable” stickers appeared where the bottles and packs used to be.
For the marketers GlaxoSmithKline it has meant millions of dollars of lost sales and lost market share. And supplies are not expected to resume until July or August.
The shortage was sparked when GlaxoSmithKline altered the specifications for the drink, which is made by Cadbury-Schweppes with blackcurrants from New Zealand. The problem was that there had been yeast in the drink. GlaxoSmithKline spokesman Kevin Darke said it was an environmental issue that needed clarification.
“This is not a sterile production process and from time to time it is possible that small amounts of yeast can find themselves in the product,” he said. “This is not a safety issue. No out-of- specification product was ever put on to supermarket shelves.
“A high-yeast content can cause excessive gassing in some products and so we thought it best to review our manufacturing processes.”
Cadbury-Schweppes spokeswoman Karina O’Meara said it had nothing to do with the quality of the finished product. “We have produced Ribena for more than eight years and have always met the company’s finished product specifications,” she said.
“We are hoping for a mutually satisfactory outcome shortly.”
More than $300million worth of Ribena products are sold worldwide each year, with sales in Australia reaching $12.2million.
Before the production difficulties Ribena had 50 per cent of the market in blackcurrant drinks. Forecasts suggest this will drop to 38 per cent this financial year as a result of the difficulties.
The consumer help line number is 1800 028 533.