Caught again! After being found out over 'Baked Today' bread, Coles' 'fresh' apples revealed to be three MONTHS old
- Supermarket giant caught misleading customers over 'freshness' of apples
- Complaint lodged following commercials that aired with chef Curtis Stone
- The Advertising Standards Board deemed Coles had breaches the food act
- In response, Coles said it would not air the advertisement again
Supermarket giant Coles has again been caught out misleading customers over the freshness of its groceries.
In commercials, aired in August and September, celebrity chef Curtis Stone makes reference to Tasmanian grown apples being fresh at Coles right now and suggests that you 'feed your family better, fresher, with spring fruit and veg from Coles.'
Following a complaint that the advertising was misleading, an investigation by the Advertising Standards Board found the company had breached the food code.
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Tasmania pink lady apples (pictured) were the subject of an investigation by the Advertising Standards Board who deemed Coles were misleading in their advertising saying they were 'fresh'
The commercials in questions, which aired in August and September, were with well known chef Curtis Stone making reference to Tasmanian grown apples being fresh at Coles right now and suggests that you 'feed your family better, fresher, with spring fruit and veg from Coles'
A Tasmania viewer lodged the complaint with the board saying these comments made were wrong and impossible.
'I live in Tassie and my apple tree is dormant! These apples would have been in storage for MONTHS, they are not fresh,' he said.
'This ad is misleading and my wife would like a personal apology from Curtis (or cash).'
Coles said it was satisfied that it wasn't in breach of the food code and that the advertisement was not misleading.
The food giant said it sourced the bulk of its apples from Tasmania, and the pink lady variety featured in the advertisement were harvested this year in Tasmania in the last half of April.
It says for ten months of the year they could choose to source apples from outside of Australia to fulfil demand but it chooses to only sell apples from local growers.
'Coles is able to continue to deliver a fresh apple outside of the harvesting period due to the availability of advanced cold storage facilities.'
'Cold storage facilities place apples in a controlled low temperature and reduced oxygen (no nitrogen is added) environment to preserve their freshness.'
While Coles said it was satisfied that it wasn't in breach of the food code for its advertisement of pink lady apples, the Advertising Standards Board said it was in fact misleading
Coles says it is able to continue to deliver a fresh apple outside of the harvesting period due to the availability of advanced cold storage facilities
Coles said it considers apples can remain fresh, even if placed in cold storage because 'Freshness' is determined with regard to the quality.
'Coles' view that produce can remain 'fresh' despite storage is consistent with the Macquarie Dictionary, which defines 'fresh' as retaining the original properties unimpaired,' it said.
The Board noted that whilst the use of the word ‘fresh’ in relation to apples is not misleading, the reference to ‘Spring’ fruit changes the context of the word ‘fresh’ to imply that the apples have been freshly picked during the Spring season ready for immediate sale.
The Board also considered that the likely interpretation of the advertisement by the average consumer would be that the Tasmanian apples being promoted as fresh this Spring would have been freshly picked in recent weeks and not over 3 months ago.
It also referred to another case of 'fresh' produce at Woolworths in 2012 where the company was not deemed to be misleading in using the word ‘fresh’ on the basis that Woolworths had stated they may use cold storage, not freezing.
The Board noted that whilst the use of the word ‘fresh’ in relation to apples is not misleading, the reference to ‘Spring’ fruit changes the context of the word ‘fresh’ to imply that the apples have been freshly picked during the Spring season ready for immediate sale
The commercials, claiming Coles' pink lady apples were 'fresh' featured well known chef Curtis Stone (pictured)
With all evidence presented, the board made a ruling that the advertisement was in fact misleading and that Coles had breached the food code.
In response, Coles said it would not air the advertisement again.
In 2012, a similar case was dismissed against Coles about its 'freshly baked' bread.
A complaint was made by a customer that their 'fresh bread' was frozen in the middle when purchased, when the store had implied it was straight from the oven.
They received a reply stating that Coles did freeze their bread but their definition of fresh included 'fresh and frozen'.
The board considered that the advertisement was truthful and was not misleading or deceptive.
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