Sports drink
Gatorade has agreed to pay $300,000 (£220,000) to the state of
California over an app called Bolt! which featured a character based on
Olympic medallist Usain Bolt.
In the game Bolt had to drink Gatorade to enhance his performance while water slowed him down.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the game made "misleading statements" about water.
The app was released in 2012 and is no longer available to download.
It was only available on Apple's operating system and was downloaded 2.3 million times from 2012 to 2013.It was briefly made available again in 2017.Players
were told to "keep your performance high by avoiding water" in a
tutorial that accompanied the game, the Attorney General's office said.
In
a statement Gatorade's parent company PepsiCo said the game was
designed to "highlight the unique role and benefits of sports drinks in
supporting athletic performance".
"We recognise the role water plays in overall health and wellness," it said, adding that it also markets bottled waterBolt! had an audience of mainly young people aged 13 to 24, the state added.
"Making
misleading statements is a violation of California law. But making
misleading statements aimed at our children is beyond unlawful, it's
morally wrong and a betrayal of trust.
"It's what causes consumers to lose faith in the products they buy," said Mr Becerra.
Almost
half the settlement ($120,000) will be used to fund research and
education into water consumption and nutrition in young people.