Berri juice products pulled up for misleading branding

Japanese conglomerate Kirin-owned dairy and drinks business, National Foods has agreed to rename its products, Australian Fresh and The Daily Juice Company that fall under its juice line Berri, after being pulled up by the Australian commission for the misleading brand names.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found that the brand names of the two products suggest the juices are 100 per cent freshly squeezed, which is not the case.

Australian Fresh juices contain a blend of fresh and cold stored juice, depending on seasonal availability while the Daily Juice Company line uses a blend of concentrate and fresh juice.

''National Foods uses aseptic-stored (cold stored) juice as a blend depending on fruit availability. This ensures we are able to provide our consumers with a consistent tasting product all year round,'' the company said.

National Foods agreed that the names might have misled some consumers and accepted that it may have contravened the Trade Practices Act. The company though refuted that it used the cold stored juices for cost savings, adding that it in fact added to their costs.

Accordingly, ''Berri Australian Fresh'' will now be called ''Berri Australian Grown'' from mid-March, 2011.