The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld an advocacy group's challenge to the use of the term “natural” by Pret A Manger but rejected a challenge to the company’s advertising claim that its breads are fresh-baked at each location. Ads on Pret A Manger’s website and Facebook page claimed that the chain makes “handmade natural food,” “avoiding the obscure chemicals, additives and preservatives common to so much of the ‘prepared’ and ‘fast food’ on the market.” Pret A Manger argued that the ads did not imply that it uses only natural ingredients or that its food is additive- and preservative-free; rather, the terminology was used to express the company's mission, which is partly to “avoid (as opposed to entirely eliminate) ‘obscure’ (as opposed to all)” chemicals. ASA upheld the challenge, determining that consumers were likely to interpret the claims to mean that the chain’s food was “natural” and free from…
Category Archives Europe
The United Kingdom has announced plans to ban the sale of plastic straws and drink stirrers in an effort to combat plastic waste in oceans. Previous initiatives to further that goal have included a ban on microbeads in personal care products, fees for single-use plastic bags and a proposal for a deposit-return process for single-use drink containers. Plastic straws necessary for medical treatment may be exempted from the ban. "Alongside our domestic action, this week we are rallying Commonwealth countries to join us in the fight against marine plastics, with £61.4 million funding for global research and to improve waste management in developing countries," Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement.
The European Commission has proposed changes to directives governing food safety, marketing and distribution. According to an EU news release, the proposal would update the General Food Law, "which dates back from 2002 and thus needs an update," and "will give citizens greater access to information submitted to the European Food Safety Authority [(EFSA)] on approvals concerning the agri-food chain." The EU proposes to create a registry of commissioned studies available to the public and predicts that Member States will be more involved in EFSA's governance structure and scientific panels. The proposal also reportedly targets "dual foods," or foods marketed across the continent but produced and sold with ingredients of reduced quality in some areas. Additional details on the New Deal for Consumers, including proposed rules on collective redress, appear in Shook's Product Liability Bulletin.
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint that a “100% Natural Ingredients” claim was misleading because the processing of the snack bar's ingredients did not comply with the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA's) criteria for use of the term “natural.” United Biscuits submitted a list of ingredients for its “Go Ahead Goodness” snack bars and asserted that all ingredients were made in a traditional manner. After ASA referred to FSA guidance, it determined that the refining of sunflower oil involves the use of chemical solvents and the process of creating reduced-fat cocoa powder involves the addition of potassium carbonate. Because the FSA guidance says neither the solvent extraction process nor the use of acid or alkali solutions is “in line with consumer expectations of ‘natural,’” ASA ruled that consumers would not consider the ingredients natural and that the advertisement was misleading.
A French bakery owner who opened his storefront seven days a week to accommodate tourist crowds has reportedly been fined €3,000 for violating a regional law mandating that bakeries close at least one day each week. Cédric Vaivre, owner of Boulangerie du Lac, operates the only bakery in his Aube town; during previous summers, he received an exemption to Aube’s prefectural decree allowing him to stay open all week but did not obtain similar permission in 2017. Christian Branle, mayor of Vaivre's town, reportedly told local newspaper L’Est éclair, “In a tourist area, it seems essential that we can have a business open every day during the summer. There is nothing worse than closed shops when there are tourists.” An Aube official reportedly told Vaivre his only solution is to open a second bakery.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed to allow the import of raw bivalve molluscan shellfish—including clams, mussels, oysters and scallops—harvested in the Netherlands and Spain by officially acknowledging that the EU food-safety system provides "at least the same level of sanitary protection as the United States' system and is therefore equivalent." The United States and the European Commission have not yet reached equivalence findings on food labeling requirements, maximum levels for food additives, maximum pesticide residue limits, drug residue limits or limits on other contaminants. "These critical determinations are a result of a multi-year, in-depth and cooperative review of shellfish safety systems in the U.S. and the EU, in which technical experts on both sides of the Atlantic have concluded that many of the safety controls in the EU and the U.S are equivalent," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. "Both governments recommended these actions…
A policy report announced by Public Health England (PHE) and the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care calls on the food industry to cut calorie content of certain foods—including pizza, ready-made meals, packaged sandwiches, meat products and savory snacks—by 20 percent before 2024. The report recommends reduction of calories through product reformulation, portion-size reduction and promotion of lower-calorie products. According to PHE data released March 6, 2018, overweight children consume up to 500 excess calories per day, while overweight adults consume up to 300 excess daily calories. Along with a continuing program of salt and sugar reduction efforts, PHE also plans to launch a campaign to educate consumers on the calorie content of meals and snacks. According to the report, the U.K. National Health Service spends more than $8 million a year treating obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and the next step will be to engage…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld two challenges to television ads, one for Aldi Stores Ltd. and one for The Wrigley Co.'s Extra chewing gum, ruling that neither can be aired again. In the Aldi ad, "Kevin the Carrot,” an advertising mascot, was used to advertise alcohol beverages in a parody of “The Sixth Sense.” The ad began with Kevin saying, “I see dead parsnips,” and featured a voice-over explaining, “Kevin was feeling a little bit tense. He thought there were spirits. He had a sixth sense. As it turned out, his instincts were right. There were a few spirits that cold Christmas night.” Throughout the ad, various alcohol beverages appear. The ad was challenged on the grounds that the ad was likely to appeal to minors because the main character was a child's toy. Aldi argued that the ad was part of its 2017 holiday parody series…
The EU has voted to update and combine more than 30 existing fishing regulations, including the addition of a ban on electric pulse fishing and new regional measures tailored to meet the needs of industries in each sea area. The law would provide common rules governing fishing gear and methods, restrictions on fishing in certain areas or at certain times of the year, and the minimum size of fish that may be caught. The rules will also restrict catches of marine mammals, seabirds and reptiles and will include provisions to protect their habitats.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a scientific opinion reevaluating the safety of silicon dioxide used as a food additive, concluding that the available information is insufficient to confirm the current acceptable daily intake. The panel reportedly found no indication of adverse effects or genotoxicity, but it questioned a long-term study indicating silicon dioxide is not carcinogenic because the description of the primary particle size was not reported. The panel recommended that the European Commission consider lowering the current limits for arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium in the current specifications for silicon dioxide to ensure it will not be a source of exposure to those elements.
