ASA Dismisses Complaints Against Tesco Milk Ads
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed complaints
challenging print and TV advertisements that tout Tesco-brand milk as fairly
priced and responsibly sourced. In particular, the complaints alleged that (i)
“the image of cows in an open field did not accurately represent how the milk
was produced or the conditions in which the cows lived” and (ii) only a small
proportion of Tesco’s milk was sourced through the Tesco Sustainable Dairy
Group (TSDG).
According to ASA, Tesco countered that all of its core milk suppliers must
meet industry Red Tractor standards as well as Tesco’s own Livestock Code of
Practice, which focuses on food safety, environmental indicators and “welfare
outcome measures such as lameness, mastitis, fertility, and animal health.” The
retailer also reiterated that core farmers with TSDG “supplied approximately
80% of Tesco’s total milk requirements over the course of the year,” while
seasonal farmers provided additional milk during periods of low production.
Tesco explained, however, that “[b]oth Core and Seasonal farmers were part of
TSDG and received the full TSDG price for the milk they supplied” regardless of
the retail price charged for milk.
Based on these arguments, ASA found that not only were adequate procedures
in place “to look after the animals’ health and welfare,” but that “the
figures supplied by Tesco showed that all their own brand fresh and filtered
milk (excluding organic, goat and flavored) came through TSDG.” As the
agency concluded, “We appreciated that the exact conditions in which cows
would be kept were likely to vary from one location to another and according
to weather conditions and time of year . . . We noted Tesco’s explanation that
both [seasonal and core farmers] were paid at the same TSDG rate for the
quantity they supplied, and that the rate had been calculated to recognize the
cost of producing milk and to include provision for capital investment, which
we considered would be significant considerations for consumers deciding
whether or not they would buy milk at Tesco in response to the ad.”
Issue 533
