Connecticut AG investigates Enviga drink

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Monday his office was launching an investigation into a new soft drink, which claims to contain "calorie-burning" ingredients.

The green tea drink Enviga, which is launching nationwide this month, claims that a consumer can burn calories by drinking 3 cans of the caffeinated beverage daily.

Enviga, a new soft drink produced by Coca-Cola and Nestle, which touts 'calorie-burning' ingredients.

Blumenthal's office contends that the claims appear to rely on questionable and "unpublished" studies.

"Unless there are credible scientific studies to support these calorie-burning claims, they may be nothing more than voodoo nutrition," Blumenthal said in a prepared statement. "The roll out of this product should include legitimate studies substantiating such counterintuitive claims."

Enviga was developed as a joint venture called Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW) between Coke (down $0.33 to $47.91, Charts) and Nestlé S.A.

An Enviga spokesperson defended the soft drink and its claims that the drink invigorates metabolism to gently burn calories.

"We have been clear that Enviga is not positioned as a weight-loss product, but is designed to complement, not replace, regular exercise, a sensible diet and other healthy choices you make throughout the day," a spokesperson told CNNMoney.com.

Blumenthal's said it has asked the companies for copies of all scientific studies, tests and trials that support these claims by next week.

The investigation by the Connecticut Attorney General comes just after a nutrition advocacy group, The Center for Science in the Public Interest, filed a lawsuit against both Coca-Cola and Nestle last week for making fraudulent claims in the marketing and labeling Enviga.

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