UK Watchdog Says ‘Zero-Calorie Pasta’ Ad Breaches Regulations

The U.K. Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has ruled that pasta manufacturer NAH Foods, Ltd. cannot use a magazine ad for its “Slim Pasta” that features the heading “Zero Calorie Pasta?” and the subheading “UK & Ireland’s No.1 Best Selling Zero Calorie Pasta, Noodles & Rice” because tests of the product revealed that it actually contains 7.7 calories per 100 grams.

In its defense, the company pointed out that the advertisement’s heading, “zero calorie pasta?”, contained a question mark and argued that it had not claimed “zero calorie pasta,” but ASA, while noting the question mark, decided that “consumers would infer that the advertiser was selling zero calorie pasta.”

According to European regulation, a food can claim to be energy-free if it
contains no more than 4 calories per 100 ml, and to make a low-energy claim,
a food must contain no more 40 calories per 100 g for solid foods, or no more
than 20 calories per 100 ml for liquids. ASA maintained that consumers were
likely to interpret the zero-calorie claim to mean “energy-free” and therefore
ruled that the ad breached regulations.