Pomegreat claims break advert rules

By claiming that the juice could 'improve heart health, minimalise the risk of strokes ... and reduce the hardening of arteries', RJA Foods had crossed the line between health claims and medicinal claims, which are banned, said the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Launched in March 2004, Pomegreat saw sales rocket by more than 280% in 2006. It now has listings in all the leading supermarkets. But the company, which sells 2.1M litres of Pomegreat a month, insisted that it had not made medicinal claims because the drink did not purport to treat, prevent or cure a disease.

However, Melanie Ruffell, executive director at the UK's Joint Health Claims Initiative, said she was not surprised by the ruling. "Once you go beyond talking about simply maintaining health, you can run into problems," she said, although it would probably be allowed under the European Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation, which was expected to be published as Food Manufacture went to press.

Article 14 allows for disease risk reduction claims, provided they are backed by sound science.

Pomegranate's benefits are put down to high polyphenol levels.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend