Makers of Maltesers and Jaffa Cakes come under fire from advertising watchdog

Oct 16 2008

Confectionery giants Mars and McVitie's have come under fire in the UK for misleading the public about some of their products.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have criticised both manufacturers for television advertising which implied that Maltesers were a low calorie snack and that Jaffa Cakes were low in fat.

The ASA, Britain's watchdog for advertising, says an advert showing a pair of female friends discussing whether or not the chocolate honeycomb snack was a "naughty" way to enjoy chocolate ended with a voiceover statement saying they contained less than 11 calories followed by onscreen text declaring Maltesers to be "the lighter way to enjoy chocolate," has broken new European regulations.

According to the ASA the new regulations are designed to stop food manufacturers making false nutritional claims and under the rules low calorie claims should not be made for products with more than 40 calories per 100g - Maltesers contain 505 calories per 100g.

Mars suggests it is more useful to say how many calories were in an individual sweet than in an entire bag, because they were designed to be shared - but the ASA says the advert gave the "misleading impression that a Malteser was low in calories and also rejected Mars claim that the tagline "the lighter way to enjoy chocolate" referred to the weight and texture of Maltesers, rather than their nutritional content.

McVitie's was also found to be in breach of European regulations because its advert for Jaffa Cakes misleadingly claimed they contained "only 1 gram of fat" as under the rules only products with less than 3g of fat per 100g can claim to be low fat - Jaffa Cakes contain 8g of fat per 100g.

The ASA appears to be getting tough on false nutritional claims - smoothie maker Innocent was criticised for adverts for its new juice brand This Water which claim the drink was made from "fruit and clouds", alongside the claim "simple, natural refreshment".

The ASA says this claim too is misleading because while they implied the drinks were made from fruit and water only, they actually contained white, unrefined, granulated sugar that made up 10% of their total content.