The ACCC has had a long history of success in taking action against food and beverage suppliers for misleading claims on pack and in ads. Yet still the industry does not learn, with National Foods the latest victim of ACCC investigation.

The ACCC was concerned that Berri Australian Fresh packaging suggested that it only contained juice that was recently squeezed, when in fact the products within this range contained either fresh juice or a blend of fresh juice and juice that had been aseptically stored (i.e. stored in sterile bags, typically for less than 12 months, after the juice has been extracted).

National Foods has provided the ACCC with a court enforceable undertaking that it will change the brand name of "Berri Australian Fresh" to "Australian Grown" as soon as new packaging is available to ensure that no consumers are misled in the future. National Foods has also agreed to amend its Daily Juice Company packaging to make it clear that the products within this range contain a blend of fresh juice, reconstituted juice and sometimes juice that has been aseptically stored.

Specifically, the undertaking provides that National Foods will:

  • cease supplying Berri Australian Fresh and Daily Juice Company products containing the old representations by 14 March 2011;
  • replace this stock with new packaging that would not mislead consumers; and
  • publish corrective advertisements in major Sunday newspapers throughout Australia to alert Australian consumers to the contents of these juices while the new packaging is prepared.

"Some consumers may be prepared to pay a premium for fresh products" ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said. "Companies wanting to take advantage of consumer preference for fresh products have to be very careful that they do not make misleading claims."

The ACCC is constantly on the lookout for claims made on food products that are potentially misleading. This industry has been in the ACCC's spotlight for some time and yet food and beverage suppliers continue to make claims that are not factually accurate. While the ACCC did not commence proceedings in this instance, National Foods will have suffered unquantifiable reputation damage as a result of the corrective advertising it was required to undertake in this matter. It will also have incurred significant legal and opportunity cost as a result of being investigated by the ACCC.

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