ASA dismisses Britvic daily intake claims

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) took issue with the claim in the magazine ad that children should drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day.

The complaint ​

A reader challenged whether the statement could be substantiated, because she felt it left out the crucial point that the total recommended fluid intake for children includes fluid absorbed from food and drink.

In its response Britvic Soft Drinks admitted that the exact amount recommended varied but said its claim was based on a balance of evidence from a broad range of experts.

Accordingly, the company presented the ASA with a number of studies related to fluid intake including a recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report stating that boys aged 9 to 13 years should take 1,680 ml of fluid per day from drinks while girls of the same age should drink 1,520 ml

Six to eight glasses a day amounts to between 1,500 and 2,000 ml of fluid a day so the recommendations in this study and others mentioned fell within this range.

In its ruling the ASA did not accept this defence. The advertising watchdog said the ad implied that it was a generally accepted recommendation that all children, of all age groups and genders should consume 1,500 to 2,000 ml of fluid per day solely from drinks.

The ASA said it found no evidence to support this implied claim and ruled that the ad was misleading and must not appear again in its current form.

Controversy ​

Supporting the ruling, the ASA said recommendations varied widely overall and also differed between sexes and across age groups. The watchdog acknowledged that some studies recommended fluid intake from drinks that fell within the guidelines put forward by Britvic Soft Drinks. But it said some organisations recommended a minimum of 1,200 ml of fluid should be drunk per day.

The adjudication is a blow to Britvic Soft Drinks which is well known in the UK for its successful sponsorship of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Strong financial results​

The company said marketing surrounding the event helped boost its sales figures this summer. Last month, it published quarterly financial results, which included a 5.9 per cent increase in revenues to £249m for the three months ending 5 July. The company said it had brought forward the publication of the figures because of the strong performance.