Bethenny Frankel Responds to SkinnyGirl Margarita Controversy

12:35 PM PDT 9/6/2011 by Jethro Nededog

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The reality star takes to her personal website to "set the record straight" after the product reportedly fails Whole Foods' standards for natural.

Bravo star, Bethenny Frankel, took to her company website on Tuesday to address the controversy over just how natural her line of SkinnyGirl margaritas really are after news that Whole Foods decided not to reorder the product broke last week.

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“We would not sell anything that I don’t personally drink,” Frankel writes. “I’m a natural foods chef and health is a top priority for me and my family.”

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“The Skinnygirl Margarita is made with natural ingredients and its label is consistent with U.S. federal regulations,” the reality star continues. “Which is why it is carried in stores nationwide and continues to fly off the shelves.”

Frankel’s statements arrive after numerous reports last week that the Whole Foods natural grocery stores pulled the SkinnyGirl Margarita products off the shelves when it deemed the product contains unnatural ingredients.

A spokesperson for Beam, the company that owns Skinnygirl, denied the product was removed from shelves and stated that the natural grocery store chain simply decided not to reorder it.

As far as the unnatural ingredient in question, the company rep said, "Skinnygirl Margarita contains very low levels of sodium benzoate (a preservative) so it can stay on the shelves."

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Frankel developed the line while starring on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City. Last year, she sold the company for a reported $120 million, which was captured on her solo spinoff show, Bethenny Ever After.

“I built my brand on trust and honesty,” Frankel writes in Tuesday’s statement. “I don’t take lightly obvious attempts to put my integrity in question. I will always answer your questions and concerns directly and truthfully.”

Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com; Twitter: @TheRealJethro