Health Claims in Food Advertising: Fonterra v Goodman Fielder

Health claims in food advertising have been a contentious area for a long time. The discussion of the complaint to the Advertising Claims Board by Fonterra against Goodman Fielder recently posted to the Mondaq website  by Addisons is therefore, worthy of a read as the following extract indicates ...

"The Food Standards Code (FSC) prohibits most "health claims" on labels and advertising for food. However, the statutory body responsible for enforcing the Food Standards Code in New South Wales, has rarely taken action for breach of these provisions. Nor has it given any publicly available guidance as to the extent of these provisions. . . .

The ACB recently reviewed a complaint made by Fonterra Brands (Australia) Pty Ltd (Fonterra) about the advertisements of Goodman Fielder Consumer Foods Pty Ltd (Goodman Fielder). The advertisements in question marketed the benefits of margarine spread over butter. ..."

You can read the full article on Mondaq at  Fonterra against Goodman Fielder (note free site registration is required). We welcome you comments on this topic.