Extra nutrition loses court – misleading advertising promises

Exercise symbol More Proper nutrition is no longer allowed to publish certain health claims on social media. The district court of Itzehoe in Schleswig-Holstein decided that the company violates the European Health Claims Regulation if it claims that its products help women lose weight or help women get pregnant. A consumer food association was sued. He criticized More’s advertising promises Proper nutrition such as misleading.

“Promises of salvation from More Proper nutrition “Not only are consumers being cheated – they are also breaking applicable laws,” explained Laura Knauf from foodwatch. “If More Proper nutrition If you’re using influencers and buyers for your marketing, that’s not a bad thing at first. However, convincing young women in particular that their products will help them lose weight or get pregnant without taking any further action is irresponsible – especially when such claims they are based only on personal experience or selected studies, most of which are funded by industry.

The European Health Claims Regulation aims to protect consumers from false health claims. Food manufacturers are only allowed to advertise with those announcements before they have successfully completed the approval process involving the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and have been included in the EU-wide list. According to foodwatch, More advertised Proper nutrition almost every day with health claims that do not meet the requirements of the Claim Regulation Act.

For example, a consumer organization has taken action against several on More’s Instagram channel Proper nutrition Promotional videos are often charged. In another post, a customer reported that he successfully lost weight with the products “Chunky Flavor”, “Zerup” and “Total Protein”. In another video, customers are given feedback on a woman’s personal report that the use of the product “Cycle Balance” led to the beginning of the last period and finally to pregnancy. In other ads, influencers promoting the company on their Instagram channels are promising protein powder and protein coffee from More Proper nutrition help with weight loss. Foodwatch criticized the fact that these health claims were not on the EU-wide list of approved health claims.

It is actually the job of food regulatory authorities to monitor health advertisements from companies such as More Proper nutrition to check. However, the authorities in charge of the districts do not have the personnel or the technical equipment to check the social media crowd on a daily basis, according to foodwatch. Currently, every third scheduled inspection of restaurants, bakeries and other food establishments has been canceled due to staff shortages. In order to adequately regulate misleading health advertising, an independent body at the government level is needed, he said. Research conducted by the food inspection departmente Stuttgart showed in 2021 that 90 percent of all health advertising claims made by influencers may violate the European Health Claims Act.

Again Proper nutrition It is very active in the Instagram network. According to several analyses, More conditions Proper nutrition among the most frequently mentioned food types. It belongs to the Quality Group, which, together with ESN products and the food specialist, recently reported annual sales of 450 million euros.

Again Proper nutrition has come under heavy criticism in recent months, including a report on the ZDF satirical program Magazin Royale. Recently, the Hamburg district court ruled that a protein brownie baking mix could not advertise “95% less sugar” and “70% less fat” because it was not be clear about what the parable is about.

Source: foodwatch eV
Internet: www.foodwatch.de