AUSTRALIA | Lactalis Australia Pty Ltd has paid AUD 59,400 in penalties after the ACCC issued it with three infringement notices for allegedly making false or misleading representations in the labelling of two of its milk products.
The ACCC alleged that Lactalis’ Golden North ‘Country Fresh’ 2L milk and Ferguson Valley ‘WA DAIRY FRESH’ 2L milk were labelled as fresh milk, when each contained substantial amounts of powdered reconstituted ingredients.
Lactalis’ products were identified in an ACCC investigation of the milk processing industry, which included gathering information and reviewing products from several major dairy processors and retailers.
The ACCC’s investigation found that processors and retailers largely label their fresh milk products accurately.
However, the ACCC’s investigation identified that Lactalis added substantial amounts of reconstituted skim milk and lactose to its Golden North ‘Country Fresh’ 2L milk. It also identified that Lactalis has added substantial amounts of reconstituted lactose to its Ferguson Valley ‘WA DAIRY FRESH’ 2L milk.
Lactalis removed the word ‘fresh’ from these product labels after the ACCC raised concerns about this labelling.
“Consumers should be able to trust product labels as accurate descriptions of the products they are buying, particularly for everyday groceries such as milk,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh.
“We were very concerned that prominent ‘fresh’ claims on these products may have been misleading, as consumers would not expect fresh milk to contain substantial amounts of powdered, reconstituted ingredients.”
He added that all food processors, including dairy companies, are on notice about the importance of truthfulness and accuracy with their packaging and labelling, and that they risk serious consequences if they make misleading claims to consumers.
These infringement notices were issued for alleged contraventions of section 29(1)(a) of the Australian Consumer Law, which prohibits false or misleading representations.
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