Reminder for all marketers and regulators: Take care on whether you may be making a non-specific ‘GOODNESS’ claim on your product.
The requirements of Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation 1924/2006 prohibit the making of any general non-specific health claims unless accompanied by a specific authorised health claim. This was underlined by the ASA in their adjudication of Halo Foods Ltd, at the end of last year.
Halo Foods Ltd were re-launching their brand ‘Honey Monster’ and included the claim on their website: ‘Yummy honey goodness for a monsterfied breakfast…20% more honey”. The ad also included references to the nutritional content of the product.
The ASA found that “Honey Goodness” referenced a general, non-specific benefit of the product and the claims that accompanied it related to nutritional content only. As general health claims were acceptable only if accompanied by a specific authorised health claim, rather than nutrition claims, the ad was found to have breached the Code (CAP Code rule 15.2 Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims.)