The federal court has handed hefty penalties to Baiada Poultry and Bartter Enterprises, and peak industry body, The Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF), over 'free to roam' claims.
Baiada Poultry and its supplier, Bartter Enterprises, have been ordered to pay a total of $400,000 in penalties and ACMF, the peak industry body for Australia’s chicken meat industry, was ordered to pay $20,000.
In July, the court found all three engaged in false, misleading and deceptive conduct for claims that meat chickens were ‘free to roam’ or able to ‘roam freely’ in large barns; Baiada and Bartter on product packaging and the ACMF in publications on its website.
The declaration against ACMF was confined to the extent that they related to the stocking densities of Baiada and Bartter’s meat chickens and that of Turi Foods, the processor and supplier of La Ionica Poultry products.
Turi Foods was a respondent in the matter but it settled its proceedings with the ACCC in December 2011 when it paid a pecuniary penalty of $100,000, published corrective advertisements and implemented a compliance training program.
The court also ordered ACMF to send a prescribed letter to its members advising of the court outcome, with a copy of the court’s judgement enclosed, and ordered ACMF’s staff to attend trade practices compliance training.
“Credence claims, which represent that a product possesses a premium attribute, are a priority area for the ACCC; particularly those in the food and beverage industry with the potential to influence consumers and disadvantage competitors,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.
“Consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions that value the types of claims that directly affect the integrity of the product, such as where or how something was made, grown or produced.”
“Consumers must be able to trust that products match descriptions so they can make informed purchasing decisions. Misleading credence claims can also undermine the level playing field and disadvantage other suppliers,” Sims said.
The penalties for deceptive 'free to roam' poultry claims are announced.
