Heinz fined 2.25 million dollars over children's snacks in Australia
Canberra (dpa) - food giant Heinz has been hit with a fine of 2.25 million dollars (1.63 million US dollars) after misleading consumers by claiming one of its toddler snacks was beneficial for young children's health, the Australian consumer watchdog said Friday.
The Australian Federal Court found in March that Heinz had breached the country's consumer laws by claiming its Little Kids Shredz products were beneficial to the health of children aged 1-3 years. It was not the case, said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which had filed the case against Heinz.
The ACCC had sought a 10-million-dollar fine, saying the penalty imposed had to be sufficient to act as a deterrent against similar conduct in the food industry. The court decided on Friday that the 2.25-million penalty was large enough.
The court also ordered Heinz to set up a consumer law compliance programme and to pay for the costs incurred by ACCC. The Heinz Group is one of the largest food companies in the world.
The Shredz products were snacks made from fruit and vegetable ingredients and did not contain any preservatives, artificial colours or flavours, but had a high sugar content. The court had found in March that the prominent statements on the packaging conjured impressions of nutritiousness and health.
It said the statement about "a product containing approximately two-thirds sugar was beneficial to the health of children aged one to three years was misleading." The products were pulled from shelves in 2016 after more than a million were sold.
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