CHOICE says brand names implying naturalness and healthiness may not be living up to their image, making it difficult for consumers to determine whether something is healthy or not.
CHOICE reviewed 200 food products with natural or healthy sounding product names and found almost half (93) to be high in either total fat, saturated fat, sugars or sodium.
“Manufacturers are trademarking healthy words such as ‘natural’, ‘healthy’ and ‘fresh’ to give the impression that a product is healthier than it seems. Other product names suggest eco-friendliness as consumers are often willing to pay premium for perceived environmental benefits,” says CHOICE spokesperson Ingrid Just.
“The problem is that while food labelling and consumer protection laws prohibit the use of the word ‘health’ on food products and other claims that might mislead consumers, companies can sidestep these laws by using the words in trademarks,” says Ms Just.
“The George Institute for Global Health found 1278 packaged foods with the word ‘natural’ attached to their brand name or packaging.”
The nutritional content of many of the products with eco- and enviro- sounding brand names reviewed by CHOICE also fared poorly.
“Words like ‘healthy’, ‘fresh’, and ‘natural’ are trigger words to shoppers – words which imply health or environmental benefits. These are very popular terms for food marketers,” says Ms Just.
Trademark law prohibits the registration of a trademark likely to deceive or cause confusion, but nutritional analysis is not part of the approval of new trade marks by IP Australia.
In contrast, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is in the process of developing a standard for health claims that would only allow these claims to be made on food products that meet agreed nutritional criteria. Further, the claims will have to be supported by robust scientific evidence.
“Despite the efforts of food labelling regulators to stamp out dodgy health claims, the trademark loophole will remain open to food manufacturers,” says Ms Just.
“Shoppers should know that just because a product’s brand name suggests that it’s healthy or natural doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for them or the environment.”