Nutella with a lot of fat but little vitamins

Verdict: Label fraud by Nutella prohibited from now on

11/18/2011

The food company Ferrero was convicted of the misleading presentation of the spread Nutellla by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court. The labels on the Nutella glasses must be changed, otherwise threaten Ferrero 250,000 euro penalty per individual case.

The Federal Association of Consumer Advocates has filed a lawsuit with the court over the misleading presentation of the Nutella labels and has been confirmed by the current judgment of the Higher Regional Court in its opinion. The information on vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and the fat content are also in the opinion of the judge designed to deceive consumers. Although the decision (Az .: 6 U 40/11) is not yet final and Ferrero has announced in any case to want to go in revision at the Federal Court, but the signal effect is already far reaching.

Massive sugar and fat, low in vitamins and minerals
According to the Higher Regional Court, the information on the labels is actually misleading as it suggests to the consumer that the sweet chocolate spread contains significantly more healthy ingredients than is actually the case. On the Nutella labels, both the healthy and the rather unhealthy ingredients are given as percentages of the daily needs, whereas at first glance, nothing is objectionable. However, for the fat and carbohydrates contained, the data refer to a 15-gram portion, whereas the basis for the vitamin and mineral portions printed in another color is a 100-gram portion. Since consumers often orientate themselves on the printed percentages, but do not take into account the underlying consumption, they conclude that Nutella contains a great deal of minerals and vitamins, while the proportion of fat and carbohydrates is rather negligible. said the legal expert Susanne Einsiedler of the Federal Association of Consumer Advocates. The opposite is true, however. In order to reach the stated percentages of the daily requirement for vitamins and minerals between 30 and 78 percent, per day 100 grams of Nutella would have to be consumed. In this case, however, much higher levels of carbohydrates and fats would be absorbed. The amount of carbohydrates and the seven percent of the fat, estimated at three percent of the daily requirement, would skyrocket.

Ferrero will change the labels at Nutella
As the Federal Association of Consumer Advocates in the Nutella labels sees a clear attempt of consumer deception, the consumer advocates went to court and demanded from the food company an omission. The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court now followed the plaintiffs in second instance and prohibited the further use of the Nutella labels. Per individual case, a penalty of 250,000 euros was imposed, should the Group not respond. Although the judgment is not yet final, as Ferrero wants to go in any case at the Federal Court in revision, but the Nutella manufacturer has already announced to change the label design at the end of the year. Although the group is still convinced that the label design complies with legal requirements and is transparent or understandable, but from the end of the year on the Nutella labels, the nutritional information is generally presented per portion, said Ferrero. So probably one or the other consumer will wonder next year, what amounts of fat and carbohydrates Nutella actually contains and how negligible is the proportion of minerals and vitamins.

Relevant misleading by Nutella labels
The fact that the judges of the Higher Regional Court followed the accusation of consumer advocates, is also due to the fact that in the typical buying situation, for example, in front of the supermarket shelf in the supermarket customers have the time to capture the different information on the underlying consumption levels, the court's opinion , The judges followed the assessment of the Federal Association of Consumer Advocates that there is a relevant misleading of consumers. The legal position in the Food and Feed Code is clear at this point. Food is not allowed „under misleading description, indication or presentation on the market“ to be brought. However, this is the case with Nutella labels, as consumers might conclude that Nutella contains little sugar and fat, but a lot of vitamins and minerals. However, Nutella is far from being an isolated case. According to the consumer advocates, food manufacturers are trying to convince customers of the advantages of their products with various questionable methods and tricks. Misleading numbers on labels, images that promise something different than they are in, formulations that suggest the conclusion of particularly healthy products, or small printed illegible synopsis with unfavorable ingredients are just a few examples that the Federal Association of Consumer Advice Centers calls.

Large food manufacturers often work with misleading tricks
According to consumer advocates, major food manufacturers such as Nestlé, Unilever, Oetker, Danone and Ferrero repeatedly because of their questionable product design and advertising claims in the criticism. The Stiftung Warentest and the consumer organization Foodwatch also warn against the countless misleading advertising promises of the manufacturers. As an example, Foodwatch calls on its website now taken from the market „Bee Maja“ Children yoghurt from the company Bauer, which was advertised as a balanced milk drink for children, but in fact „44 sugar cubes to one liter“ contained, wherein „Coke compared to only 28“ contains. Ferrero was already criticized more often at Foodwatch. So promise the children's bar „Snacking without feeling guilty, thanks to the extra-portion milk with plenty of good calcium“, but in truth, 13 bars would have to be eaten to cover the daily requirement of a child for calcium, but the little ones at the same time „48 sugar cubes, half a packet of butter plus flavors and additives“ would take up. Ferrero's milk slices are a similar scam, according to Foodwatch. Lures milk slices with the promise presented in advertising mostly by top athletes: „Tastes easy. Does not burden. Ideal for in between“, this is how the reality looks very different. In fact, milk cuts contain about 60 percent fat and sugar and skin it „more pure than chocolate cream cake“, so food watch.

Food clarity reveals misbehavior of food producers
Another terrifying example of misleading product design was Gutfried's turkey Cervelatwurst, which consisted almost half of pork, which was a particularly momentous deception for Muslims because of the obligation to abstain from pork. Only in the small print on the back was to recognize that the alleged „Turkey Cervelat sausage“ also included pork. Nearly 10,000 consumers complained about turkey sausage, according to Foodwatch, before Gutfried responded. The new Internet portal www.lebensmittelklarheit.de, which is also supported by the Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, will therefore help to detect and publicly denounce manufacturer misconduct as quickly as possible. Here consumers are explicitly invited to cooperate. The enormous response to the new portal illustrates how often consumers feel misled by food manufacturers. After the first 100 days, more than 3,800 products had already been registered on Lebensmittelklarheit.de and in some cases the manufacturers had reacted promptly to the public complaints and adjusted their products accordingly. However, by no means all food producers are so obvious, so that in case of doubt, going to court - as in the current Nutella case - remains the last option for consumer protection. (Fp)

Also read:
Is the giraffe Sophie carcinogenic?

Picture: Helene Souza