Yoghurt Story New Zealand Limited (Yoghurt Story) and Frozen Yoghurt Limited (Frozen Yoghurt) today appeared in Auckland District Court facing charges brought by the Commerce Commission.

The charges relate to promoting frozen yoghurt products which did not contain yoghurt, and for making false claims about the health benefits of the product on the Yoghurt Story website.

All charges fall under the Fair Trading Act 1986 for making false or misleading representations and engaging in conduct which is liable to mislead the public.

As the matter is now before the Court, the Commission is unable to comment further at this time.

Background

The Australia New Zealand Food Standard Code, Food Standards 2002 – Standard 2.5.3 – Fermented Milk Products, states that yoghurt means: fermented milk where the fermentation has been carried out with lactic acid producing micro-organisms. Yoghurt must contain a minimum of 1 million colony forming units of bacteria per gram.

For more information see the ComLaw website.