The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against CLF Distribution Ltd over a marketing email promoting sugar-free jams, ruling that the claim “naturally sweet ingredients” was misleading.
The email, seen on 10 December 2024, featured the headline “These jams are crafted with high-quality, naturally sweet ingredients” alongside an image of four jam flavours. Additional text stated: “These jams are crafted with high-quality, naturally sweet ingredients that deliver all the fruity flavour and richness of traditional jams without the sugar spike.”
A complainant challenged the description, noting that the jams contained erythritol and steviol glycosides – ingredients that undergo extensive processing and could mislead buyers into believing they are entirely natural.
The ASA found that traders would interpret “naturally sweet ingredients” to mean sweeteners that are wholly natural and subject to minimal processing. However, the regulatory body concluded that the manufacturing processes used to produce erythritol and steviol glycosides – such as corn fermentation, ion exchange, solvent extraction, and crystallization – go beyond what would reasonably be considered “natural”.
In its ruling, the ASA stated: “We concluded that the claim ‘naturally sweet ingredients’ was not substantiated and therefore the ad was misleading.”
The ASA also expressed concern over CLF Distribution’s failure to respond to its enquiries, noting that this showed an “apparent disregard for the Code”. The company was found in breach of CAP Code rules 1.7 (Unreasonable delay), 3.1 (Misleading advertising), and 3.7 (Substantiation).
As a result, the ad must not appear again in its current form. The ASA instructed CLF Distribution not to claim or imply that products containing erythritol or steviol glycosides consist solely of “naturally sweet ingredients”. The matter has been referred to the Committee of Advertising Practice’s (CAP) Compliance team for further action.
Last month, the ASA upheld a similar complaint against food supplement company Zoe over a Facebook ad promoting its plant-based product, Daily30+, ruling that it misled consumers about its processing credentials.
