Health-focused trademarks mislead shoppers, says Choice

Consumer watchdog Choice has criticised some food manufacturers for using brand names that imply naturalness and healthiness when their products are anything but. Reviewing 200 food products with natural or healthy-sounding names, Choice found 93 to be high in either total fat, saturated fat, sugars or sodium.

“Manufacturers are trademarking healthy words such as ‘natural’, ‘healthy’ and ‘fresh’ to give the impression that a product is healthier than it seems. Other product names suggest eco-friendliness as consumers are often willing to pay premium for perceived environmental benefits,” said Choice spokesperson Ingrid Just.

“The problem is that while food labelling and consumer protection laws prohibit the use of the word ‘health’ on food products and other claims that might mislead consumers, companies can sidestep these laws by using the words in trademarks,” said Just.

Of the 200 products reviewed, Choice highlighted several as not living up to their names:

• Nutritional information on five All Natural Bakery Bars shows they are high in saturated fat and sugars.
• The Natural Cordial Company’s lime cordial contains a sulfite preservative.
• Mother Earth Baked Oaty Slices are high in saturated fat.
• A number of Back to Nature and Goodness Superfoods cereals are high in sugar.

Trademark law prohibits the registration of a trademark likely to deceive or cause confusion, but IP Australia does not take nutritional analysis into account when approving new trademarks.

“Despite the efforts of food labelling regulators to stamp out dodgy health claims, the trademark loophole will remain open to food manufacturers,” Just said.