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A Malaysian podcaster has called attention to a rather confusing ingredient label on a sparkling drink co-created by actress Gillian Anderson
Noby Leong, who runs the podcast Satayokay, recently pointed out that one of the beverage flavours in Anderson's G Spot range is labelled as "Sarawak".
Anderson, best known for her roles in The X-Files, Sex Education, The Crown, and The Fall, co-founded the brand, which features a line of four functional sparkling drinks.
The drink in question, G Spot LIFT, lists its flavour profile as "Red Berries & Sarawak", which might leave Malaysians wondering: Sarawak what?
Well, the answer is Sarawak black pepper
The brand describes LIFT as a caffeine-free, low-sugar sparkling drink made with berries, citrus, and "a subtle kick of Sarawak black pepper".
Its ingredient list also specifically identifies Sarawak black pepper, making it clear that "Sarawak" refers to the spice rather than the state itself.
Still, the wording caught Leong's attention, especially since the other drinks in the range have more specific flavour descriptions, such as scarlet apple and sage, passionfruit and habanero, and ginger and peppercorn.
"Sorry, Gillian, we love you, but this isn't right. Here's to Sarawak black pepper!" he wrote in the caption of his video.
"Sarawak is not an ingredient," he explains in the video to Anderson
"It's a state on the island of Borneo. We know you meant Sarawak black pepper… but shortening 'Sarawak black pepper' to just 'Sarawak' is kind of weird.
"That's like calling 'English breakfast tea' just 'English'. Now, us Malaysians don't get a lot of credit for things. We're a former British colony. So, we're used to people taking things from us without asking.
"So please just this once, can you call it what it is? Sarawak black pepper. The truth should be out there," he said.
