Packed with good stuff? Not unless you mean high levels of salt and saturated fat

Published on Wednesday 29 August 2007 01:22

AN ADVERT that said Dairylea Lunchables were "packed with good stuff" was misleading because they contain on average half a young child's recommended daily salt intake, a watchdog ruled yesterday.

None of the six snacks in the Lunchables range is low in saturated fat and two of them have high levels, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said.

In addition, the products have an average of 0.6g of sodium per serving - half the suggested daily intake for four to six-year-olds.

The ASA received three complaints about the online advert, which showed various Dairylea Lunchables sandwiches and the phrase: "Packed with good stuff."

After an investigation, the ASA found the claim had breached advertising rules and told the food company Kraft not to repeat it.

The advert implied "that Lunchables contained a high proportion of nutrients that were beneficial to health, when we understood that they contained high levels of saturated fat and sodium. We concluded that the claim 'packed with good stuff' was misleading".

A Kraft spokesman said: "We reformulated Dairylea Lunchables with improved nutrition earlier this year to a point where the nutrition is comparable to a homemade sandwich, so we felt that justified the claim.

"That being said, of course we respect the ASA ruling and are happy not to run the ad again."