ASA Adjudication on Innocent Ltd

Ad

A national press ad for Innocent Superfoods Smoothies showed a bottle of the product in a field of grass and was headed "acai comes from a tree, not a laboratory." Text at the bottom of the ad stated "When we were inventing our natural detox superfoods smoothie, we figured we should use super berries from super trees, not weird artificial boosters from strange laboratories. So we blended acai with equally incredible pomegranates and blueberries to produce a recipe that contains even more antioxidants than the average five a day. We think it's the world's superest smoothie recipe. Hope you like it too."

Issue

A reader challenged:

1.  whether the product had a detoxifying effect; and

2.  whether it contained more antioxidants than five average portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1.  Innocent Ltd said their Superfoods Smoothie contained pomegranates, blueberries and acai berries.  They said these fruits contained high levels of antioxidants which neutralised the free radicals that could damage the body's cells.  They said that soaking up free radicals in this way therefore detoxified the body of free radicals.

2.  They said until recently the most widely studied antioxidants were vitamins C, E and beta-carotene.  They said during the last decade scientific research had revealed other bio-active compounds that they believed had just as important an antioxidant capacity.  They therefore tested their product for its oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) value, which was a measure of its antioxidant content.  They said that showed their product had an ORAC value of 1640 umol per 250 ml serving and that research showed a diet with an average five portions of fruit and vegetables per day contained an ORAC value of between 1470 and 1870 umol.  This figure was based on research conducted in 1996 on 32 subjects comprising males, females, young and old.

Innocent Ltd said they had no plans to use the ad again or to use similar claims in the future.

Assessment

1.  Upheld

The ASA understood that drinking plenty of water and eliminating alcohol from one's diet helped reduce the number of toxins in the body's system.  We also understood that "neutralising" or "soaking up" free radicals did not amount to removing toxins from the body.  We did not consider Innocent Ltd had provided evidence to prove their product removed toxins from the body.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 50.1 (Medical and scientific claims).

2.  Upheld

We noted that Innocent Ltd based their claim on an American study that linked increased consumption of fruit and vegetables with increased plasma antioxidant capacity in humans.  We noted, however, that the study stressed the importance of eating a variety of fruit and vegetables and that accepted nutritional advice was that fruit juice and smoothies could count towards only one of the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per day, no matter how much was consumed.  Even if the method of antioxidant calculation and the comparisons between fruit and vegetables and Innocent Ltd's product could be considered valid, we nevertheless noted that the ORAC value of 1640 umol per 250ml serving of Innocent Superfoods Smoothie was not "even more" than the antioxidant quantity of five portions of fruit and vegetables per day according to the study Innocent Ltd cited, but midway between the range of values it showed, the average of which was 1670 umol.  We did not consider the evidence Innocent Ltd provided proved their product provided more antioxidants than five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.    

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 50.1 (Medical and scientific claims).

Action

We welcomed Innocent Ltd's assurance that they had no plans to use the ad again or to use similar claims in the future.  We told Innocent Ltd to delete the claims and to ensure they could provide suitable evidence to back up any future claims.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)