Update-The former New York City Housewives and now successful entrepreneur, Bethenny Frankel is sticking to her guns – no surprise there. The self-titled Natural Foods chef had her Skinny Girl Margarita’s pulled from the shelves at Whole Foods.
Skinny Girl Margarita’s were originally marketed as completely natural, thus containing no preservatives. However, as you may know the FDA has a fairly liberal allowance when it comes to labeling a product as “natural”. This appears to be the confusion with Frankel’s brand given it does contain a commonly used preservative known as Sodium benzoate- or E211.
According to The Inquisitr, a Whole Foods representative released the following statement;
“This product had been offered in 16 of Whole Foods Market’s 310 stores. After discovering that it contains a preservative that does not meet our quality standards, we have had to stop selling it.”
Frankel’s camp countered to Access Hollywood with a somewhat different take by stating;
“With all due respect to Whole Foods, we were in a dozen of their stores and have decided not to continue in these stores. They represent an infinitesimal fraction of our business. We are, in fact, the fastest growing spirits brand in the US. Skinnygirl cocktails were created to solve a problem: to create a line of guilt free cocktails allowing women to drink the indulgent drinks they actually want to drink with as few ingredients as possible.”
Although the statement offered little explanation regarding their “natural” label versus the products actual contents; it did however highlight a level of dissonance between the two that may not have been as easily visible before.
Unsurprisingly Bethenny has released another statement this time she’s a bit more defensive about the impact of the ban;
“We would not sell anything that I don’t personally drink. I’m a natural foods chef and health is a top priority for me and my family.”
She adds, “The Skinnygirl Margarita is made with natural ingredients and its label is consistent with U.S. federal regulations, which is why it is carried in stores nationwide and continues to fly off the shelves.”
Bethenny concludes, “I built my brand on trust and honesty. I don’t take lightly obvious attempts to put my integrity in question. I will always answer your questions and concerns directly and truthfully.”
