The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has committed an embarrassing U-turn after reversing a February decision that rapped two adverts for Kronenbourg 1664 beer featuring former Manchester United soccer star Eric Cantona.
BUT ARE BEVERAGES BEING MADE AN UNFAIR SCAPEGOAT FOR US OBESITY EPIDEMIC?
The horrifying prospect of a 46% obesity rate by 2030 has pushed California state senators to approve a bill requiring brands to slap safety warnings on sugar-sweetened beverages from July 2015.
The EU spirits industry has highlighted its commitment to fighting underage drinking and promoting moderate consumption for young adults, after a Brussels workshop last Friday.
Irish police have seized equipment that reportedly forms part of an IRA fake vodka production racket running for more than two decades that copies brands including Smirnoff.
ASA: “Our referrals to Trading Standards are a clear warning to those who won’t stick to the rules that they face the prospect of legal sanctions. And these are just the first referrals"
The UK advertising watchdog has referred two UK supplement makers to enforcement authorities for, “persistent misleading advertising health claims in breach of the Advertising Code.” More are set to follow, it said, as the agency cracks down on EU nutrition...
spiritsEUROPE says the tragic deaths of 80+ people in Kenya who drank bootleg spirits reportedly poisoned with methanol show why the large-scale problem of illicit alcohol should be tackled.
JUICE AND SMOOTHIE FIRM: 'GAVIN'S DEATH WAS A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY, A SOURCE OF UTMOST REGRET'
The father of a young engineer who was killed by falling pipework during the botched decommissioning of a Gerber Juice factory in South Wales, UK, has attacked the managers responsible, insisting they 'didn't have a clue what was going on'.
Unhealthy diets now rank above tobacco global as cause of preventable diseases
The international community must develop a global convention similar to the legal framework for tobacco control to fight diet-related ill health, warn Consumers International and the World Obesity Federation.
EFSA MGMT BOARD: "Bernhard will ...provide Europe with the best scientific advice to protect consumers from food-related risks..."
Doctor Bernhard Url is the new chief of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) after its management board confirmed the acting-chief as its next executive director this week.
The drinks industry has slammed as “absurd” Western Australia’s decision to ban energy drinks as mixers during late-night screenings of World Cup matches.
Last week’s UK ruling that health claims made on Ribena’s website were ‘exaggerated’ suggests there is not as much flexibility as the industry might have hoped when it comes to rewording authorised health claims to make them more understandable to consumers,...
'Like so many others he is completely ignorant about the truth of Palcohol': Mark Phillips
The colourful creator of Palcohol powdered alcohol has hit out at New York senator Charles Schumer after the politician wrote to the US FDA calling on it to ban controversial product Palcohol before the prospect of US sales by autumn 2014.
ZENITH INTERNATIONAL & BSDA UK SOFT DRINKS CONFERENCE, MAY 7
Innocent Drinks CEO Douglas Lamont says the Coke-owned brand’s ‘biggest fear’ is that alarmist headlines claiming that 100% juices and smoothies are unhealthy due to sugar levels could affect government policy.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has thrown out a challenge to the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) but the German lawyers behind the action say the ruling was based on a technical issue and may appeal.
The UK Parliament has refused to serve a beer brewed in the Northwest of England over concerns that the bar tap was racist, where it depicted blacked-up faces from a traditional Lancashire dance troupe.
Two amicus (friend of the court) legal briefs have been filed in support of New York City’s proposed cap on sugary drink portions, saying the rule is a sensible step toward stemming the tide of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related chronic illnesses.
SPOKESMAN SAID UK POLICE PROBED CONNECTION VIA US AUTHORITIES
UK police tell BeverageDaily.com they are aware that a killer drink laced with cocaine and a massive haul of drug-infused juice found by US Federal officers both bore labels illegally aping brands owned by Trinidad's SM Jaleel & Co.
While it may be clear that people should probably cut down on their intakes of salt, sugar, and fat, the best way to achieve this has always caused a bit of a headache. Is quiet reformulation the most pragmatic solution?
Australian jobs are at risk, as is the credibility of the segment, if craft breweries continue to licence their beer to mainstream operators, according the previous head of Byron Bay Brewing Company, which has found itself at the centre of a consumer...
Carlton & United Breweries will relabel stocks of beer that it acknowledges might have “misled” consumers into believing the product had been brewed hundreds of kilometres away from its real source.
Earlier this month, a California Senate committee approved a bill to mandate warning labels on sugary beverages. As SB 1000 awaits votes in the Senate Committee on Appropriations later this month before a full Senate floor vote, the question of public...
spiritsEUROPE insists that laws on production and labeling of organic products including spirits present opportunities for small to medium-sized distillers in particular to better cater for consumer needs.
Senator Charles Schumer is calling on US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Margaret Hamburg to strike out a new rule that will hinder brewers selling spent grain to farmers for animal feed.
CONTROVERSIAL HEALTH SERVICE AD COMPARES ALCOHOL TO ASBESTOS AND TOBACCO
The UK beer industry has failed in its bid to stop the broadcast of a controversial National Health Service (NHS) aligned advert that shows a man swallowing a cancerous tumor from a glass of beer.
The questions posed by Supreme Court Justices during oral arguments in a false advertising case brought by POM Wonderful against Coca Cola were nothing short of “astonishing”, according to one food law attorney that has been closely following the case.
US attorneys Lehrman Beverage Law say they are ‘astonished’ that 58% alcohol by weight powder Palcohol has been approved for US sale as brandowner Lipmark predicts an autumn 2014 launch.
It’s not quite as dramatic as the Oscar Pistorius trial, but in the world of food law, a false advertising case brought by POM Wonderful against rival Coca-Cola is being followed just as closely. And all eyes will be on the Supreme Court on Monday, when...
Morrisons has been slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after its video advertisement, broadcast during a series of children’s nursery rhymes on YouTube, featured images of spirit bottles with the voice-over “These litre bottles of spirits...
Scotland’s whisky industry is celebrating a “major breakthrough” in Australia, where this the spirit was registered as a certification trademark. The move comes after a long battle by Scotch Whisky Association to counter fakes, for which Australia has...
Denmark’s National Food Institute (NFI) has said it considers it ‘unwise’ to replace bisphenol A (BPA) with any of five compounds it studied until more data is available.
UK ASA: "Court action is a last resort but we will issue such action if other measures fail"
Joint health claims made by a Dutch-made collagen, glucosamine and omega-3 based food supplement, have been kyboshed by the UK advertising watchdog. But Finitri, the Dutch firm, has gone underground and the disputed claims remain on its website.
Diageo is suing rum rival Heaven Hill Distillers in Canada claiming the Kentucky firm is infringing its Captain Morgan trademark with its Admiral Nelson's spiced rum.
Postmenopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks a day may be more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problems, according to new research.
A class action lawsuit accusing Coca-Cola subsidiary Odwalla of misleading consumers and misbranding its products by using the term ‘evaporated cane juice’ (ECJ) on labels has been put on ice by a California judge following the FDA's decision to...
CARLSBERG ISSUES CONSUMER APOLOGY FOR 'INCONVENIENCE AND DISCOMFORT'
China has agreed to end its year-long investigation into subsidies on and alleged dumping of EU wine exports in a move that will relieve France in particular.
A food industry panel chaired by former UK cabinet minister Michael Portillo has warned that the UK drive to cut sugar and salt levels in food and drink risks being undermined by larger portion sizes.
A French senatorial report has proposed a 'junk-food' tax on products that are linked to heart disease - with the report taking particular aim at soft drinks, which currently benefit from low taxes.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) plans to revise the tool used to estimate food additive intakes on the back of stakeholder feedback and updates of food consumption in its Comprehensive Database.
COKE HITS BACK AT 'MERITLESS LAWSUITS' AND LAWYERS
A US lawsuit insists Coke made false, deceptive claims that its eponymous brand was ‘healthy and natural’ in the wake of a ‘Category 5’ consumer hurricane that saw soda sales slip from 2008.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is backing Dr Bernhard Url to be its next executive director after its management board selected the acting chief from a shortlist.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has backed a proposal to strengthen the existing harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) of bisphenol A (BPA).
Coke is brokering a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after it threatened a $278,000 fine for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at a Minute Maid plant in Michigan.
