Originally published October 24 2005
Nestle attacked by vegans for misleading ad
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Vegan Society has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about a Nestle ad that claims dairy products are essential to bone building, which Vegans believe is misleading in its assumption that no other foods can strengthen and develop bones.
The Vegan Society and a member of the public approached the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about a claim made in an Nestle advertorial on AOL's website.
One paragraph in the advert was headed "Dairy Products" and stated "Essential for healthy bones ...".
Aimed at women and featuring Nestle's Sveltesse Optimise dairy drink complainants objected to the ad, claiming it was misleading because 'it is not necessary to eat dairy products to obtain healthy bones.'
The ASA ruled that the use of the word "essential" implied dairy products were the only source of calcium.
"We concluded that the advertorial was likely to mislead and advised Nestl� to amend the claim,"said the watchdog.
Defending its advert, Nestl� UK said they recognised there were other sources of calcium and they "had not intended to suggest that dairy products were the only source of calcium."
But, according to ASA, the number one food maker in the world asserted that dairy products were particularly rich sources of calcium, and the most widely consumed source.
"They argued that dairy products were regarded as the primary source of calcium by both the public and nutritionists.
Nestl� said they had therefore used the term "essential" to highlight the importance of dairy product's contribution to calcium intake and healthy bones," reports ASA.
"Manufacturers and agencies that promote cow's milk products will have to be far more careful in the future," said London nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston.
Recent nutrition profiling proposals from the UK's Food Standards Agency that would put milk in the same health bracket as diet coke and make breast milk unsuitable for children, have been heavily criticised by the dairy industry.
The FSA profiling proposal, developed at the end of July, used zero as a benchmark, with positive scores indicating unhealthy products and minus scores pointing to healthier options.
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