Background
Summary of Council decision:
Four issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
Six ads for Willy’s ACV apple cider vinegar:
a. A website, www.willysacv.com, seen on 15 February 2022, featured a homepage that included the claims “Live probiotic foods good gut apple cider vinegar, blends, shots & drinks”, “Our organic Apple Cider Vinegar is powerful stuff and has made a huge difference to me. It’s helped me lower my cholesterol and lose weight. I feel better than I have for years.”, “Join the 60 Day Challenge feel the difference to your wellness. Every Drop of Willy’s Apple Cider Vinegar is loaded with premium live probiotics to boost gut health and help you feel fantastic”, “Add a daily dose of natural goodness to your routine”.
A page titled “The Story” included the claims “What Has It Done For Me? People ask me if I’ve had my ACV tested and verified. YES in that I can vouch for the benefits myself, it’s changed my life. I take 25 ml daily with fresh beetroot juice and I’ve lost 3 stone, I have lowered my cholesterol, increased my energy levels and I sleep better”. Further down the page was text that stated “I also believe the science of how a mildly acidic product like ACV can shrink swelling in the body, hence why people like Sir Ranulph Fiennes claim it helped relieve his arthritis symptoms”.
An FAQ page included the claims “IS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR VERY ACIDIC? … ACV is claimed to help balance ph in the gut, leading to improved digestion”.
A listing for an “APPLE ACV KOMBUCHA DRINKS CUBE” featured the claim “Gently energising and rejuvenating”.
A listing for “ORGANIC LIVE TURMERIC & HONEY APPLE CIDER VINEGAR” stated “… an anti-inflammatory wellness tonic with adaptogens and gut-healthy goodness! The black pepper … helps with the absorption of all-important curcumin in turmeric”.
b. A post on Willy’s ACV’s Facebook page on 15 February 2022, stated “Struggling to fight a pesky cold? Or maybe you're trying to find something to incorporate into your daily routine, to avoid the terrible winter flus? Get yourself a bottle of our Fire Cider! Loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, this ACV is a flu season must have! #ImmuneSystemSupport #FluSeason #GutHealth #AppleCiderVinegar #WillysACV”. An image accompanying that text included a list of ingredients and made claims about each ingredient including, “Horseradish – known to boost circulation and clear mucus, horseradish can also help with digestion and speed up your metabolism”, “Garlic – this ingredient has reports of helping to lower blood pressure, lowering cholesterol and may also support your immune system”, “Ginger – loaded with antioxidants, ginger can help fight high blood pressure and can also help promote healthy aging”, and “Turmeric and Cayenne pepper – turmeric is known to contain anti-inflammatory properties. Cayenne pepper contains many nutrients, beneficial against infections”.
c. A post on Willy’s ACV’s Instagram account on 1 March 2022 stated “Loaded with all the good stuff that your body needs, such as antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, you're really missing out”. The post featured an image of a bottle and text that stated “Turmeric & Black pepper – when paired together will better the absorption of curcumin. Overall loaded with anti-inflammatory properties & boost digestion” and “Honey – the vitamins in both honey & ACV can help boost the immune system and also play a part in bone & heart health. It can also help with memory & cell production”.
d. A post on Willy’s ACV’s Instagram account on 10 December 2021 stated “With the nights drawing in, days getting shorter and flu season taking hold, now’s the time to focus on our immunity and what we can do to prevent getting ill this season. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has been used as a natural remedy for centuries – with claims ranging from reducing cholesterol levels, helping arthritis symptoms, and even improving heart health. However, recent research and anecdotal stories have suggested that ACV may also help reduce the symptoms of, or even prevent, colds and flu”.
e. A post on Willy’s ACV’s Instagram account on 8 November 2021 stated “… Apple Cider Vinegar is great for curbing sugar cravings. ACV contains acetic acid known mainly for its antimicrobial properties … some research shows that it may also help regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, which can lead to a reduction in sugar cravings”.
f. A post on Willy’s ACV’s Instagram account on 29 October 2021 included the claims “Billions of cells including bacteria, viruses and fungi reside in our guts and are responsible for many vital bodily processes … However, certain factors (such as alcohol, stress, lack of sleep etc) can lead to gut dysbiosis. This is when there is an imbalance of good and bad bacteria … Unfortunately, alcohol can have harmful physical and mental effects when consumed in large amounts. And in terms of gut health, some research shows that chronic alcohol consumption can lead to gut dysbiosis … some studies show that alcohol can kill off some of our good gut bacteria, causing an imbalance in bacteria. So what are some helpful tips?”.
The post went on to include as helpful tips “Rebalance your microbes by eating a diverse diet rich in live and fermented foods/drinks […] Because our ACV is alive with our 300 year old mother, getting your daily dose of ACV can help to repopulate some of the good bacteria in your gut”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether:
1. ads (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) made general and specific health claims that were in breach of the Code;
2. ads (a), (b) and (d), which made reduction of disease risk claims, complied with the Code;
3. ads (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) made claims to prevent, treat or cure disease, which were prohibited by the Code; and
4. ad (a) referred to a rate or amount of weight loss, which was prohibited by the Code.
Response
1., 2., 3. & 4. Willy’s Ltd t/a Willy’s ACV provided a description of the product’s ingredients, which included the bacteria acetobacter and lactobacillus, and the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, potassium and zinc, and explained the circumstances of its manufacture. They were waiting on test results to confirm the presence of bacillus amyquicfalans in their products. They said that as a small business it had been prohibitively expensive to obtain laboratory tests to substantiate the claims made in their advertising, and they had therefore relied in good faith on publicly available information. They provided links to articles from a wide range of newspapers, websites and journals to support the claims made in their advertising.
Willy’s ACV stated that they would, if the substantiation provided was deemed unsuitable, make changes, in particular to the claims about reduction of disease risk, and claims to prevent, treat or cure disease.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code defined health claims as those that stated, suggested or implied that a relationship existed between a food category, a food or one of its constituents and health. Willy’s ACV had provided third-party articles in support of the health claims made in the ads. However, only specific health claims authorised on the Great Britain nutrition and health claim (NHC) register (the GB NHC Register) could be made in ads promoting food or drink products. Any authorised health claims made in an ad must meet the associated conditions of use. Additionally, the Code required that general health claims, which were claims that referred to the general benefits of a nutrient or food for overall good health or health-related well-being, must be accompanied by a specific authorised health claim.
We first assessed which claims were specific health claims and which therefore must be authorised on the GB NHC Register.
Ad (f) stated that “billions of cells including bacteria […] reside in our guts and are responsible for many vital bodily processes. This includes things like: helping to control digestion […] Our good gut bugs are important for digestion and destroying any harmful bacteria that may emerge […] certain factors […] can lead to gut dysbiosis”. In that context, we considered the claim that Willy’s ACV could “help to repopulate some of the good bacteria in your gut” would be understood to mean that the presence of “good” bacteria, provided by Willy’s ACV products, could help the process of digestive transit and counter any ill effects of gut dysbiosis. Similarly, we considered the claim “Help balance ph[sic] in the gut, leading to improved digestion” in ad (a) implied that the pH balance of the gut could be unbalanced and that if it was, digestion might be negatively affected, and that the product could help to correct that and improve digestive transit. We further considered the claims “can also help with digestion” in ad (b) and “boost digestion” in ad (c) would also be understood to mean the product could improve digestive transit. Claims to help or improve the process of digestive transit were specific health claims.
We considered the claim “speed up your metabolism” in ad (b) would be understood to mean the product would speed up the metabolism, and that in turn would help with weight management and weight loss. Ad (a) also included the claim that the product “helped … lose weight”. Those claims were specific health claims.
We considered the claims “#ImmuneSystemSupport” and that garlic “may also support your immune system”, in relation to the Fire Cider product in ad (b), and the claim “boost the immune system” in ad (c), would be understood to mean the products, or ingredients in them, could support or improve the functioning of the immune system, and were therefore specific health claims.
Ads (b) and (c) included the claim “loaded with antioxidants”, and ad (b) also included the claim “Ginger – loaded with antioxidants” in relation to the Fire Cider product. We considered those claims were specific health claims that the products, or ingredients in them, helped to protect cells from oxidative stress.
We considered some consumers may not be familiar with the term “adaptogens”, used in ad (a). However, we understood the term was used to describe natural substances believed to help the body respond to stress, and we considered many consumers who were interested in the potential health benefits of products such as apple cider vinegar would have some knowledge of that definition. We therefore considered the claim “[…] with adaptogens” would be understood to mean that the product would support the body’s ability to respond to stress, which we considered was a specific health claim.
Ad (c) included the claim “help with memory & cell production”. We considered those claims would be understood as meaning the product would support the brain processes involved in sorting and retrieving memories and support normal cell production in the body, which were specific health claims.
Ad (e) included the claims “great for curbing sugar cravings” and “may also regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, which can lead to a reduction in sugar cravings”. We considered the claims would be understood to be specific health claims that the product could support the body’s ability to process sugar, and so support the regulation of blood glucose and insulin levels and increase feelings of satiety, particularly in relation to sugar consumption.
Ad (b) included the claim “Horseradish – known to boost circulation […]” in relation to the Fire Cider product. Ad (a) featured the claim “I sleep better” and the claims “increased my energy levels” and “Gently energising”. We considered that claims to boost circulation, improve sleep and increase energy levels were specific health claims.
Finally, we reviewed the claims “black pepper […] helps with absorption of […] curcumin in turmeric” in ad (a) and the claim “Turmeric & Black pepper – when paired together will better the absorption of curcumin” in ad (c). While the claims did not state which health benefits would be derived from curcumin, we considered the implication was that curcumin provided health benefits and that black pepper, or black pepper and turmeric combined, would improve the body’s absorption of curcumin, leading to greater health benefits. The claims described black pepper, or black pepper and turmeric combined, as having an improved effect on a function of the body (absorption of curcumin) for which there was an implied health benefit. We concluded the claims were therefore specific health claims for the purposes of the Code.
We then assessed which claims were general health claims, which therefore must be accompanied by an authorised specific health claim on the GB NHC Register.
We considered the claims “I feel better than I have for years”, “feel the difference to your wellness”, “to help you feel fantastic”, “daily dose of natural goodness”, “I can vouch for the benefits myself, it’s changed my life”, “Gently […] rejuvenating” and “wellness tonic” in ad (a) were references to how apple cider vinegar products provided general good health. We considered the claim “promote healthy aging” in ad (b) would be similarly understood, although in the context of aging in particular.
We considered the claims “play a part in bone and heart health” in ad (c) and “improving heart health” in ad (d) were references to the products promoting general good health of the bones and heart. We considered the claims “Good gut” and “gut-healthy goodness” in ad (a) and “#GutHealth” in ad (b) would be understood as meaning that the products were good for the overall general health of the gut. We considered the claims “Live probiotic foods” in ad (a) would be understood similarly, because consumers were likely to understand the word “probiotic” as describing a substance that contributed to the general good health of the gut. For the same reasons we considered the claim “with premium live probiotics to boost gut health” in ad (a) would also be understood as a reference to general health of the gut. All the above claims were therefore general health claims for the purposes of the Code. However, none of the claims were accompanied by relevant, authorised specific health claims as was required.
Because we had not seen any evidence that the specific health claims in ads (a), (b), (c), (e), and (f) were authorised on GB NHC Register, and ads (a), (b), (c) and (d) made general health claims that were not accompanied by specific authorised health claims, we concluded they breached the Code.
On that point, ads (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.1, 15.1.1, and 15.2 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that only reduction of disease risk claims authorised on the GB NHC Register could be used in marketing communications. Reduction of disease risk claims were health claims that stated, suggested or implied that the consumption of a food or one of its constituents significantly reduced a risk factor in the development of human disease.
Ad (a) included the claims “Helped me lower my cholesterol” and “I have lowered my cholesterol”; ad (b) included the claim that the garlic in the Fire Cider product “has reports of […] lowering cholesterol"; and ad (d) featured the claim that apple cider vinegar had been used as a natural remedy for “reducing cholesterol levels”. We considered consumers would understand those claims to mean that the apple cider products could reduce levels of cholesterol. High cholesterol was a risk factor in the development of heart disease and the claims were therefore reduction of disease risk claims.
We considered the claim that garlic “has reports of helping to lower blood pressure” and that ginger “can help fight high blood pressure” in ad (b) would be understood to mean those ingredients in the Fire Cider product could reduce high blood pressure. Because high blood pressure was a risk factor in the development of a range of diseases, we considered the claims were therefore reduction of disease risk claims.
Willy’s ACV had not provided evidence that their products contained any foods or nutrients for which there were authorised reduction of disease risk claims on the GB NHC Register. We therefore concluded that the claims relating to the lowering of cholesterol and blood pressure breached the Code.
On that point, ads (a), (b) and (d) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.6 and 15.6.2 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims).
3. Upheld
The CAP Code prohibited claims that stated or implied that a food could prevent, treat or cure human disease.Ad (a) included the claims “Can shrink swelling in the body” and “Anti-inflammatory”; ad (b) included the claim “Turmeric and Cayenne pepper – turmeric is known to contain anti-inflammatory properties” and the claim “Loaded with […] anti-inflammatory properties” in relation to the Fire Cider product; and ad (c) included the claims “loaded with […] anti-inflammatories” and “Overall loaded with anti-inflammatory properties”. We considered those claims would be understood to mean the product could help to treat inflammation in the body, and were therefore claims to treat or cure human disease.
Ad (a) also included the claim that Sir Ranulph Fiennes had said apple cider vinegar “helped relieve his arthritis symptoms” and ad (d) stated “Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has been used as a natural remedy for centuries – […] helping arthritis symptoms”. We considered those were claims that apple cider vinegar could help to treat a human disease.
Ad (b) included the claims “to avoid the terrible winter flus”, “Struggling to fight a pesky cold?”, “this ACV is a flu season must have” and “#FluSeason”. Ad (d) included the claims “With the nights drawing in, days getting shorter and flu season taking hold, now’s the time to focus on our immunity and what we do to prevent getting ill this season. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has been used as a natural remedy for centuries […] recent research and anecdotal stories have suggested that ACV may also help” and “reduce the symptoms of, or even prevent colds and flu”. We considered those claims would be understood as either direct or implied claims that apple cider vinegar could help to prevent, treat or cure colds or the flu.
In relation to the Fire Cider product, ad (b) included the claim “Horseradish – known to […] clear mucus”. We considered that the need to “clear mucus” would be understood by consumers to refer to the mucus build-up experienced as a symptom of illnesses such as flu, which was referenced in the ad. The claim was therefore a claim that horseradish could resolve a symptom of illness and as such treat human disease.
Ad (b) also included the claim that cayenne pepper was “beneficial against infections” and ad (e) featured the claim “antimicrobial”. Antimicrobials were substances that killed microorganisms or prevented them from growing and causing disease. We therefore considered both claims would be understood as meaning the products could prevent viral and bacterial infections, and therefore were claims to prevent, treat or cure human disease.
We welcomed Willy’s ACV’s assurance that the claims would be amended. However, because the ads made claims to prevent, treat or cure human disease, we concluded they breached the Code.
On that point, ads (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.6 and 15.6.2 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims).
4. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that health claims that referred to a rate or amount of weight loss were not acceptable when made in relation to a food. We considered consumers would understand the claim “I’ve lost 3 stone” in ad (a) to mean that William Chase had lost three stone in weight as a result of consuming apple cider vinegar. As referenced above, claims that a food could help weight loss were health claims. The claim was therefore a health claim made in relation to a food that also referred to an amount of weight loss. We concluded the claim breached the Code.
On that point, ad (a) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.6 and 15.6.6 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Willy’s Ltd t/a Willy’s ACV to ensure their advertising did not include: general health claims for foods unless they were accompanied by a specific authorised health claim for which the food met the conditions of use; unauthorised specific health claims or reduction of disease risk claims, or authorised health claims or reduction of disease risk claims for which the food did not meet the conditions of use for the claim; claims to prevent, treat or cure human disease; or health claims that referred to a rate or amount of weight loss.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
15.1 15.2 15.6 15.1.1 15.6.2 15.6.6
