Ad description

A TV ad for a range of ham from Denny, seen on 15 September 2015, included a voice-over that stated, "Our new improved Denny Deli Style, 100% natural ingredients ham. It tastes better than ever before, and it's still the only ham with no artificial additives or preservatives." On-screen text also stated "STILL THE ONLY HAM WITH NO ARTIFICIAL ADDITIVES NO ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES". A packet of ham was shown at the end of the ad, with text on the packaging that stated “WE ARE THE ONLY 100% NATURAL INGREDIENTS HAM”.

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the claim "the only ham with no artificial additives or preservatives" was misleading and could be substantiated.

Response

Kerry Foods Ltd explained that the food technology involved in creating the product was proprietary. They said no other producers used or had access to that technology and therefore it was not possible that another company could produce ham products of that type.

Kerry Foods stated that the most commonly used ingredients in converting pork to ham were phosphates, sodium nitrite, sodium chloride, sodium ascorbate, dextrose and flavourings. In order to produce a 100% natural ingredients ham, all ingredients listed above were removed and replaced with natural alternatives.

They said the primary reason that they were able to check the validity of the claim was that all cooked hams were legally required to declare the preservative sodium nitrite, if used, on their ingredient lists. That preservative, while commonly and traditionally used in ham manufacturing in the UK, was not a natural ingredient, and their production system removed the need for sodium nitrite.

Kerry Foods said that when the product was first launched, they worked with Mintel to establish that the Denny Deli Style ham was the only product in the market that could make that claim. They explained that market trawls were carried out every two years to ensure that the claim remained true. Their last market review was conducted in May 2014, in which they logged over 200 ham products across a large number of retail chains. They found that all other ham products marketed in the UK and Republic of Ireland contained additives. . They also said product category reviews were carried out on average twice per year to track any changes made to product ranges made by major retailers, and they were fully informed of those changes by their category teams.

Kerry Foods confirmed that the ad was broadcast in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) only, and that Denny ham products were not sold outside of NI and ROI. They provided details of retailers in both NI and ROI that were covered in the market trawl and a spreadsheet of ham and other cold meat products, with details of their ingredients. They said all of the grocery multiple outlets were included in the trawl, but not all convenience chains or smaller independent stores, however, were covered. They stated that typically in smaller convenience channel types of stores, the top three or four best-selling products were listed. By capturing the details of all the grocery channels, it was unlikely that they had missed any products.

Kerry Foods further stated that they were aware that manufacturers of foods in other categories, and who used 100% natural technology, made "natural" claims widely as it was clearly a competitive advantage. They stated that it was highly unlikely that any producer would go to the lengths to develop such technology and incur ongoing costs without making such claims. They asserted that the Mintel research for both UK & ROI validated the fact that no other manufacturer was making a 100% natural claim in sliced cooked ham.

Clearcast stated that Kerry Foods had used the claim since 2012, and with each subsequent submission they had requested Kerry Foods to provide them with substantiation demonstrating that no other ham on the market had added artificial additives or preservatives. Clearcast said they believed the evidence provided by Kerry Foods to support the claim.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted that when the claim “still the only ham with no artificial additives or preservatives” was stated in the voice-over, and subsequently appeared as on-screen text, the ad did not include any other information stating which types of ham products the claim referred to. However, we noted that a close-up shot of slices of cooked ham were shown at the same time as the on-screen text and a packet of the product was featured at the end of the ad. We considered that viewers were likely to interpret the claim as applying to pre-sliced packaged cooked ham only and that they were likely to understand the claim as meaning that Denny Deli Style ham continued to be the only pre-sliced packaged cooked ham on the market without artificial additives or preservatives. Given that Denny ham products were only available for purchase in NI and ROI, we considered that consumers were likely to expect that that claim was made within the context of NI and ROI.

We noted that the evidence provided by Kerry Foods included ham products from most supermarkets in both NI and ROI and also other food brands, and it showed that those products contained sodium nitrite or other types of preservatives, and also additives. Although we noted that some convenience chains or smaller independent retailers had not been included in the market trawl results, given that the ingredient sodium nitrite was traditionally used in ham manufacturing and that production without the use of artificial ingredients was inherently difficult, we considered that the evidence provided was adequate to substantiate the claim. We therefore concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

We investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules  3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.  (Misleading advertising),  3.9 3.9 Broadcasters must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that the audience is likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.  (Substantiation) and  3.33 3.33 Advertisements that include a comparison with an identifiable competitor must not mislead, or be likely to mislead, consumers about either the advertised product or service or the competing product or service.  (Comparisons with identifiable competitors) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

BCAP Code

3.1     3.33     3.9    


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