Advertisements for organic food are less likely to fall foul of the Advertising Standards Authority from now on - thanks to a new set of advertising claims cleared by the Commitee of Advertising Practice’s Copy Advice Team.
The list of 128 cleared statements, compiled by the Soil Association, includes: ‘healthier soil, happier animals’ ‘no system of farming is more bee-friendly’ ‘no system of farming has lower pesticide use’ and ‘GM ingredients… are banned under organic standards’.
The Copy Advice Team’s clearance does not constitute absolute protection - the ASA may still rule against an ad - but its opinion carries weight with the ASA.
“For the first time, we now have an unprecedented range of rigorously researched statements,” said Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett.
Soil Association Certification chief executive Rob Sexton added: “With the market in recovery, the Soil Association belie
ves this is a crucial moment for everyone in the organic movement to come together with a clear call to consumers.”
The Soil Association will make evidence backing up every claim on the list available to licensees wanting to make a claim. However, it recommended that advertisers still checked their ads with Copy Advice, warning that the context in which statements were used could alter their meaning.
The Soil Association is inviting organic suppliers to submit claims not currently on the list for submission to Copy Advice for clearance.
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