Food manufacturers, watch out!
rapped over false labelling. Earlier this week US regulators told
Campbell Soup
This is the week that food manufacturers have had their knuckles rapped over false labelling. Earlier this week in the US, regulators told Campbell Soup that its Prego pasta sauce contains less vitamin C than advertised and have ordered the company to correct the problem promptly, while on Wednesday, the UK Consumers' Association announced that it is to name and shame food manufacturers who make what it believes are "dishonest" claims on their packaging.
Ananova.com reports that the consumer watchdog is currently examining dozens of brands, including some supermarket own-label products, to pick out the worst examples.
Initial results have found a crab paste that contained 11 per cent crab meat, chicken and vegetable savoury rice with chicken the second smallest ingredient and 7.5 per cent cranberry in a drink labelled cranberry and apple juice.
The association will also be highlighting what it considers misleading claims about the health benefits of products, such as crisps which boast they are "85 per cent fat free", when in reality it means they still contain 15 per cent fat.
A full list of the worst offending companies is due to be released when the association launches its Honest Labelling campaign towards the end of the month.
Liz Edwards, senior researcher at the association's publication Which?, said: "We get a lot of complaints from our readers about confusing or misleading labelling and it is an area that needs manufacturers to be much more honest and up-front and the laws to be tightened.
"There has been a marked improvement in some areas of labelling but there is still plenty of cause for concern."
