Calling tea containing agrotoxic residues ‘Pure’ and ‘100% natural’ is misleading advertising. For this, Organic Consumers Association (OCA), the association representing organic food consumers in the U.S., sued Twinings North America Inc. and the parent company Associated British Foods PLC. (1)
Glyphosate green tea
The Twinings labels incriminated are those for green tea, -described as ‘pure’ – and mint green tea, where they claim ‘100% natural’ ingredients. Fake news, according to activists at Organic Consumer Association (OCA), which represents more than one million consumers in the United States and two million more in other countries.
In fact, laboratory tests reveal that the two Twinings brand teas are contaminated with residues of as many as three agrotoxics:
– glyphosate, the notorious herbicide devised by Monsanto and classified by IARC as a potential carcinogen, was detected at 0.332 mg/kg,
– the insecticide thiacloprid, a neonecotinoid, is present in more than 0.148 mg/kg,
– the pyrethroid insecticide b ifenthrin (bifenthrin) is itself residual at an amount of 0.288 mg/kg.
‘Natural’, ambiguity and deception
The ISO/TS 19657 technical specification-in providing‘Definitions and technical criteria for food ingredients to be considered natural‘ -explicitly excludes from its scope any reference of the term natural to:
– food and environmental safety,
Big Food lobbyists have so far succeeded in preventing the use of the adjective ‘natural’ from being subject to special rules. By having it excluded, among other things, from the list of banned words-such as instead ‘bio’, ‘eco’, ‘organic’-that are strictly forbidden to be used in labeling and advertising of food not certified as organic (Note: See reg. 2018/848, Article 30).
For that matter, the Oxford Dictionary-a dictionary of the English language par excellence-attributes the word ‘nature‘ to ‘all the plants, animals and things that exist in the universe that are not made by people.’ Thus, no specific discipline is needed to infer the deceptiveness of the term natural when referring to agricultural commodities (even if minimally processed) obtained with chemically synthesized pesticides.
Organic Consumers Association’s complaint
‘No reasonable consumer reading the words ‘pure’ and ‘100 percent natural ingredients’-whether on packaging, in advertising communications, or on the company website-would imagine that such products contain glyphosate residues and chemically synthesized insecticides,’ explains Ronnie Cummins, co-founder and international director of OCA. (2)
Health-conscious consumers rely on labels and communications disseminated online, including on company websites, to make informed purchasing choices. As a result, Cummins continues, ”Twinings should review the supply chain so that its products are indeed ‘pure’ and ‘100 percent natural.’ Or stop misleading advertising’.
The seriousness of the deception, according to OCA, is demonstrated by the fact that consumers – misled into confusion about the claimed ‘purity’ and ‘naturalness’ of Twinings green teas – also buy them at higher prices than competing products.
Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Superior Court of the District Of Columbia Civil Division, Organic Consumers Association, 6771 South Silver Hill Drive, Finland, Mn 55603, Plaintiff, V. Twinings North America, Inc., 777 Passaic Avenue, Suite 230, Clifton, Nj 07012, And Associated British Foods Plc, 10 Grosvenor Street, London, W1k 4qy United Kingdom,
(2) https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/organic-consumers-association-sues-twinings-tea-for-false-and-misleading-advertising-300881880.html
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
