ASA Adjudication on J Sainsbury plc

Ad

A TV ad for a supermarket showed TV chef Jamie Oliver walking across a field and saying "Taste. One of life's pleasures. It's not about spending loads of money. It's not even about chefs. It's about great ingredients. And Sainsbury's get the absolute best out of theirs. It's a simple claim but a massive commitment. Getting meat from the right farms. Picking fruit at the right time. Taste testing loads of new products. So whether it’s everyday stuff or something a little bit special, it tastes great". Jamie was shown tasting a sausage that had been cooking on a camping stove and said "Right down to this lovely little sausage. Look at that. Made from 100% fresh British Pork. Tastes delicious. Everything Sainsbury's stands for, in a bite. Pretty eloquent really, for a sausage. Don't just eat food, taste it".

Issue

Five complainants challenged whether the ad implied that Sainsbury's sausages were made only from 100% British pork, when they understood they included other ingredients.

BCAP TV Code

Response

J Sainsbury plc (Sainsbury) said the phrase "100% fresh British Pork" was used to draw attention to the fact that Sainsbury's used only British pork in their sausages. They explained that the Meat Product Regulations 2003 defined a pork sausage as containing at least 42% pork meat and that this was a legal definition that was used throughout the industry. They said it was not possible to make a sausage from 100% meat and that other ingredients were needed to bind, moisten and flavour the meat in order for consumers to recognise it as a sausage. They believed that consumers would understand that other ingredients were included in sausages and, in any event, would interpret the reference to sausages "made from 100% fresh British pork" as an indication of their origin and not the amount of meat they contained.

Clearcast said they believed most viewers would interpret the ad to mean that the sausages were 100% British rather than 100% pork.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA understood that Sainsbury's sausages contained pork meat which had been wholly sourced from British farms. We considered that the majority of viewers would know that sausages were made from ingredients other than meat and would interpret the phrase "Made from 100% fresh British pork" as a reference to the origin of the meat contained within Sainsbury sausages. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

We considered the ad under CAP (Broadcast) Advertising Code rules 5.1.1 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.2 (Implications) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action required.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)