After a Commerce Commission investigation into misleading claims about fat content, Woolworths (NZ) Limited has changed the way it labels and checks meat.
Commission Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy said Woolworths (NZ) had admitted to the Commission that what its supermarkets labelled as "topside" mince did not come from topside cuts, and that what they labelled as 90 percent "lean" or 90 percent "fat free" contained, at times, more than 10 percent fat.
The company has entered into a settlement with the Commission. Woolworths (NZ) has given signed undertakings describing how it will change its behaviour to ensure it does not breach the Fair Trading Act.
The settlement applies to all supermarkets run by the company. That is, Woolworths, Franklins at Big Fresh and Price Chopper supermarkets.
Ms Leamy said the Commission is carrying out a major investigation into claims about food. The Woolworths (NZ) investigation arose from Commission surveillance of claims made about the fat content of meat.
"Huge amounts of money are spent on promoting food," Ms Leamy said. "About $1.5 billion each year in New Zealand alone.
"At the same time, almost 20 percent of household spending is on food. It's a huge market, we've all got to eat.
"People are also becoming more health conscious. Claims about fat can have a big impact on customers' buying decisions."
The Commission has already successfully prosecuted Village Meats Sumner Limited and meat distributor Pacific Dunlop for making misleading claims about the fat content of meat, and juice manufacturer O and K Limited for false claims it made about the purity of orange juice.
It has cases before the courts against Stefan's Fruit Juice Company and Griffins Food Limited. Those cases relate to claims about the freshness and place of origin of juice and to fat content of potato chips.
Woolworths (NZ) has given signed undertakings:
· that it will cease labelling mince as 90 percent "fat free" or 90 percent "lean", or make any other claims about fat content of mince, unless the mince has been chemically tested and the claims are accurate;
· that it will cease labelling mince as "topside" unless it is from the topside cut;
· that it will not make any claims in future about meat that are not accurate;
· to instruct all store managers and butchery staff about the labelling of meat, and about procedures to ensure that the labels are accurate;
· to update its compliance programme with these new instructions; and
· to have the Commission publicise this settlement.
Media contact: Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy
Phone work (04) 498 0908, cellphone 021 662 773, home (04) 386 3110
