Advertising watchdog rejects Viva! pork complaint

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rejected a complaint from vegan group Viva! about the AHDB Pork Midweek Meals campaign.

The claim that pork medallions were ‘low in fat’ was made as part of AHDB’s ‘Pick Pork’ marketing campaign which ran in September and October last year. Viva! had called into question the health claims – arguing that pork medallions should not be considered ‘low in fat’.

AHDB supplied test results to the ASA to support this claim, showing that pork medallions contained on average just 0.17g of saturated fat – well below the maximum limit of 3g of fat per 100g to be considered low in fat.

The ASA said the tests carried out independently on behalf of AHDB were ‘sufficiently robust’, adding that AHDB had not breached any of the UK advertising codes.

The announcement was welcomed by AHDB Pork Strategy Director Angela Christison, who said the ruling is ‘fantastic’ news for the industry.

“We are very pleased with the ruling made by the ASA today,” she said. “We are delighted that the results from our research have been upheld and consumers can make healthy choices knowing the findings are robust.”

“A great deal of work has gone into the latest pork advertising campaign and we worked closely with Trading Standards under a Primary Authority Partnership, in advance of launching our campaign, to ensure our claims around health and nutrition were accurate. Shoppers can be confident that industry is working in the best interest of consumers.”

NPA reaction 

NPA chief executive Zoe Davies also welcomed the ruling, which she described as a 'common sense decision'. 

She said: "Once again vegan campaigners have sought to undermine the pork industry, but we are delighted that the ASA has backed the claim that pork medallions are 'low in fat'. There is clear evidence to back it up.

"We would like once again to urge British consumers to seek out quality Red Tractor British pork as part of a healthy diet!" 

The advertising campaign was launched in September last year, following research which showed consumer perception of pork was that of a fatty, old-fashioned meat.

An initial evaluation has shown that campaign cuts saw an eight per cent increase in volume sales over the Autumn campaign period compared to the same time the previous year.

The third ‘Pork Medallion Midweek Meal’ advertising campaign will hit TV screens again in September of this year.