In 1991, the company was the subject of regional news coverage when a smear campaign was launched against A-Treat as it tried to sell its sodas in New York City. The campaign, which targeted African Americans, claimed certain brands of carbonated beverages — including those produced by A-Treat — were actually manufactured by the Ku Klux Klan and contained stimulants that would "sterilize the black man". Investigations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and New York City's Department of Health found the claims to be unsubstantiated and untrue. ("See also: Tropical Fantasy")