The Real Bread Campaign – a UK-based initiative which promotes additive-free bread and transparent labelling – has made a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over the marketing of Kingsmill 50/50 bread by Allied Bakeries.
The complaint has resulted in Allied Bakeries, a division of ABF Grain Products, to promise it will stop using the claim ‘50% of your daily whole grain in 2 slices’ for its Kingsmill 50/50 product.
This claim is based on the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Currently, there is no formal UK or European guidance about how much wholegrain we should eat.
In response to its complaint, the ASA advised the Real Bread Campaign that it has reminded [Kingsmill] its promise not to use this claim must apply across its wider advertising and it will need to notify retailers that it can no longer appear.
Before deciding to complain to the ASA, the Real Bread Campaign said it suggested to Kingsmill that it replace the marketing claim based on ‘whole grain’ in favour of a “factual statement of fibre content”.
However, using a statement such as ‘12.7% of your recommended daily dietary fibre in 2 slices’ in its place would not have been legally compliant because for EU/UK there is no labelling reference intake for fibre in law. This is laid out in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers.
Kingsmill does already use a ‘source of fibre’ statement and a brand may voluntarily claim foods as such a source if the product contains at least 3g of fibre per 100g or at least 1.5g of fibre per 100kcal. Kingsmill 50-50 contains 4.7g per 100g.
The ASA has said no formal investigation will be required following this complaint because “Kingsmill has already assured” that the advertising The Real Bread Campaign complained about “will be amended”.
The ASA also told The Real Bread Campaign: “We consider there is little to be gained from continuing with a formal investigation, which would achieve that same outcome.
“We consider that this will resolve the complaint without referring the matter to the ASA Council, and will consequently be closing our file.’ As such, full details of the case (ASA ref. A25-1289336) and its informal resolution won’t appear on the ASA website.”
Kingsmill has now removed the aforementioned claim from its website. The claim will still appear on pack, Food Manufacture has been informed.
“We thank the ASA for their intervention and we welcome the result. This serves as a reminder of the value of legal standards and underlines our long-standing assertion that the term wholegrain needs defining in law,” the Real Bread Campaign’s coordinator Chris Young said.
Commenting in response, a Kingsmill Spokesperson told Food Manufacture: “We can confirm that we have quickly and informally resolved a matter that the ASA raised with us regarding a statement on the Kingsmill website.
“As bakers we’re passionate about the role that wholegrain plays in a healthy, balanced diet and are proud that Kingsmill 50/50’s blend of white and wholemeal flour has proved so popular with families across the UK since it launched almost 20 years ago.
“Our focus remains on making sure that all the information Kingsmill shoppers may need is clearly and accurately declared on pack. We continue to be confident in the efficacy of all statements we make with respect to our Kingsmill 50/50 bread.”
