Uncle Tobys reaps penalties over the protein in its oats

Source: foodprocessing.com.au --- Thursday, November 26, 2015
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued three infringement notices to Cereal Partners Australia (the manufacturer and distributor of Uncle Tobys brand oats) for making made false or misleading representations about the protein content in certain Uncle Tobys brand oats products. CPA has paid penalties of $32,400. The ACCC issued the infringement notices because it had reasonable grounds to believe that CPA made false or misleading representations about the protein content of certain Uncle Tobys brand oats products, in contravention of the Australian Consumer Law. The packaging of Uncle Tobys ‘Quick Sachets’ oats contained the statement ‘Natural Source of Protein* Superfood’, and the packaging of Uncle Tobys ‘Traditional Oats’ contained the statement ‘Naturally Rich in Protein* Superfood’. The product packaging in each case contained the disclaimer “*when prepared with [1/2 or 2/3] cup of skim milk”, which appeared in fine print below the misleading statements. These representations were also made in a television commercial promoting Uncle Tobys oats products, which contained a similar fine print disclaimer. The ACCC alleged that by: combining the words ‘natural source’/‘naturally rich’, ‘protein’ and ‘superfood’ in the statements on the packaging and in a television commercial; and presenting the word ‘protein’ prominently in the centre of the front of the packet in a bright colour and in large font sizes, CP ...

from Australia http://ift.tt/21i1XHG