No, in the case of a food, dietary supplement or cosmetic product one may not say that it helps with a disease. So no ‘helps against eczema’ in the case of a cream. Nor 'reduces pain with joint complaints ' in the case of glucosamine products.
But what if this is communicated?
On the front of a package of La Bonbonnerie butter wafers is the designation ‘vegan’. Good news for vegans you might think, they can now also enjoy the Old Dutch treat. But alas, it turns out to be misleading food information. The product contains 1% butter and is therefore not completely free of animal ingredients. A big line through ‘vegan’, but what about the ‘veggie’ designation?
Read MoreMany food packages include a ‘serving suggestion’ (aka ‘serving tip’). But what does this mean? The Board of Appeal outlines two ways in which consumers can understand ‘serving suggestion’.
Read MoreGreen, greener, greenest! Consumers are increasingly making (more) conscious choices for more sustainable, natural products. The food industry is embracing this need. Chewing gum producer BenBits also advertises with "natural" and "plastic-free" gum. This year, competitors Perfetti (Mentos and others) and BenBits submitted complaints about each other's advertising.
Read More"Immediate" action is a must in case of unsafe food and feed. This open standard from European legislation (General Food Regulation (178/2002) and Implementing Regulation (931/2011)) has recently been specified in a national Policy Rule. "Immediately" means that within 4 (!) hours after there is reason to believe that a product is unsafe, a consumer recall must be initiated. Within the same 4 hours, the NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) must also be notified in relation to the source of the products and in relation to the customers of the products (1 step up and 1 step further down the chain).
Read MoreA new nuance in the discussion about ‘climate neutral’ claims: Arla mentions on its organic dairy products that the milk and yogurt would be climate neutral, as it invests in the planting of new trees in Africa. By this Arla means that its dairy is climate neutral because it is certified according to the climate neutral label CNG (Climate Neutral Group), a solid quality label with strict requirements. That label uses the wording "climate neutral”. Can Arla do this too? The Board of Appeal distinguishes between two types of climate-neutral statements.
Read MoreNutri-Score is a voluntary food choice logo that helps consumers to make healthier choices when purchasing within a product group. Nutri-Score has not yet been officially introduced in the Netherlands; this is expected to happen in 2022. Nutri-Score can already be found on store shelves as part of pilots and because it is already in use abroad.
Read MoreTaste is subjective and therefore it cannot be copyrighted, was the ruling in the Heksenkaas case. In this Advertising Code Committee case the issue is not the copyright on taste, but the expectation of the taste of a biscuit based on the packaging.
Read MoreFor almost 15 years, our office was located in the Emerald House, in the shadow of the Okura Hotel. Everything was there: meeting rooms, comfy rooms, computers, standing desks, a photocopier, a rather psychedelic graffiti of a geisha in traditional Dutch costume and reasonable coffee. Yet slowly it was time for something new.
Read MoreThe vegan shoarma pizza is the latest addition to New York Pizza's pizza range. This launch did not go unnoticed, as is often the case with this pizza specialist. Earlier, we reported that the campaign promoting the cauliflower pizza base caught the eye.
Read MoreTotal panic in the Amsterdam supermarkets: the barista oat drink, which you can use to add plant-based foam to your (iced) coffee, is out! The producers have a supply problem. And that's not surprising, because plant-based drinks and products are more popular than ever.
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