Britvic

Additives are those things that we intentionally add to our products, either to maximise their appeal (taste, look, nutritional content etc) or to ensure they maintain their quality throughout their shelf life – so they include preservatives, flavourings and colourings, but also things like vitamins, minerals and sweeteners.

Additives sometimes get a bad press, particularly ‘E numbers’, but an E number simply confirms that an additive has been approved as safe by the EU. Many E numbers occur naturally in unprocessed foods.

Any additives that we use have undergone exhaustive testing by both the British government and/or by the EU and every additive currently in use is defined as safe by these bodies. UK regulations also govern which additives are permitted in which foods and at what levels. All our drinks comply with these regulations.

We are aware that some people are concerned about the use of certain additives and we are actively working towards using natural alternatives, for example natural colours and natural flavours, in our products.

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Sugar is a traditional sweetener which is used in many soft drinks. It enhances fruit flavours and balances acidity as well as providing a source of readily available energy.

We believe that full sugar soft drinks can form part of a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle. However, we acknowledge that some people prefer to avoid sugar and we provide an extensive range of No Added Sugar or Sugar Free products to meet these needs.

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We currently use Aspartame, Acesulfame K and Saccharin, either on their own, or in combination, and sometimes in combination with sugar.

All of these sweeteners have been thoroughly tested and are approved for use by the EU/British government. They provide a low calorie alternative for people who want to limit their daily calorie consumption.

From time to time artificial sweeteners, particularly Aspartame, get a bad press. In fact, Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested food ingredients, having undergone more than 200 scientific studies over a 30 year period. In May 2006, the European Food Standards Agency, declared that it is perfectly safe following an extensive review of scientific data.

Further information on sweeteners is available from the International Sweeteners Association at www.sweeteners.org and for aspartame at www.aspartame.info.

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All of our products have recently been assessed by the Gloucester Muslim Welfare Association, who have produced a list giving the Halal status of our products. For full details of those products you can visit their website.

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The following products in our portfolio contain gluten.

• Robinsons Fruit & Barley (all flavours)
• Robinsons Barley Water (all flavours)
• Shandy Bass
• Britvic Tomato Juice Cocktail

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Diabetes is a specific medical condition and we are not qualified to give advice on whether a product is suitable to drink or not.

We recommend that you contact Diabetes UK – Tel: 020 7424 1000, or you can visit their website at www.diabetes.org.uk

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In accordance with the Vegan Society guidelines, the following products are not suitable for a vegan / vegetarian diet:

• Robinsons High Juice Blood Orange
• Robinsons For Milk No Added Sugar Strawberry & Raspberry

We do not test any of our products on animals and we do not manage, sponsor or involve ourselves in any way with animal testing.

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As part of Britvic’s commitment to the local community, the company has established a Community Fund with Essex Community Foundation to support charities and voluntary organisations working with families in the Essex area. Essex Community Foundation is a local grant making charitable trust which manages funds on behalf of companies, individuals and public agencies.

As part of managing Britvic's Community Fund, all requests for charity are forwarded to the Foundation for consideration against Britvic’s criteria or one of the many other funds which the Foundation manages.

If you would like to apply for a grant, application forms and guidelines can be found on the Foundation’s website www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk

If your organisation is based outside of Essex, home of Britvic, there are currently 60 community foundations across the UK all managing funds on behalf of individuals, companies and public agencies to support charities in their local area which could assist you with your request.

To find contact details of these please visit www.communityfoundations.org.uk

If you have any queries do please call the Foundation’s grants team on 01245 356018 who will be happy to help.

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We offer a wide range of soft drinks, however, we have no control over which local stores they are sold in. This is determined by individual retailers and is based on consumer demand. We suggest that if a product is not in your local store, you raise this with the store manager.

Sometimes we may decide to stop making a particular product. To check to see if the product you are looking for is still being produced please contact our consumer care department on Tel: 0800 0321767.

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You can either call our care line on Tel: 0800 0321767, write to us at: Britvic Consumer Care, Britvic House, Broomfield Road, Chelmsford Essex, CM1 1TU or alternatively you can send your complaint to us via the Contact us section on this site, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

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We have an 'Innovation' department at Britvic, which is constantly developing new ideas for soft drinks that will appeal to our consumers. As this process is managed in-house, we are unable to enter into agreements with the general public.

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