Commission fines junk food giants

TWO junk food giants have been fined by the consumer watchdog for claiming that their products were suitable for school children.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission fined Unilever Australia and The Smith’s Snackfood Company A$10,800 (K25,449) each for misleading healthy food representations. Unilever said its Paddle Pop Rainbow ice cream was approved by school canteens and the packaging included a logo on the front, back and one side with the words “school canteen approved” with a tick symbol.
The Smith’s Pizza Supreme Rice Snacks were described on the packet as meeting school canteen guidelines by using a logo and an image of a sandwich and an apple.
The ACCC said the packaging on both products did have a disclaimer saying the products met the amber criteria of school canteen guidelines, which meant the product contained some valuable nutrients but could also be high in energy.
But the watchdog said the disclaimer was small and on a different side of the packet to the logos.
ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said the watchdog was ensuring that health claims made by large companies were not misleading to consumers.  Unilever and Smith’s have told the ACCC they will stop using the logos on their packaging. – ABC