Coca-Cola apologizes for offensive message in bottle cap

A Canadian woman received an apology from Coca-Cola after she purchased a Vitaminwater with a bottle cap bearing an offensive message.

According to Metro Calgary, Blake Loates of Edmonton in Alberta was shocked when she opened her beverage and read the words "YOU RETARD," written inside of the cap, as one of her younger sisters has cerebral palsy and autism, ABC News reported.

Loates' father, who lives in Tacoma, Washington issued a lengthy letter of complaint to Vitaminwater's parent company Coca-Cola, and the beverage company recently apologized to the family.

Representatives for Coca-Cola stated that the language inside the cap was the product of a competition pairing one random English word with a second random French word.

They added that in French, "retard" meant "late" or "delayed", but the word's English connotation was missed during the review process.

Shannon Denny, director of brand communications for Coca-Cola Refreshment Canada said that following the complaint, the promotion has been cancelled and the company is no longer producing bottles with those caps.