A survey by consumer organisation Foodwatch has crowned a nutritional supplement from the brand LaVita as the "most brazen advertising lie" of the year. Some 39 percent of the roughly 66,000 participants in the online survey voted to award the company's "micronutrient concentrate" the negative prize known as the Goldener Windbeutel, Foodwatch announced on Tuesday. The organisation called for stricter regulation of the food supplement market.
LaVita advertises its micronutrient concentrate as a "cleansing drink," a "natural product," and the "daily foundation of our health," claiming it keeps consumers "fit for life." According to Foodwatch, the product consists of 70 percent fruit juice concentrate, with 26 isolated vitamins and nutrients added on top — "in some cases overdosed." A half-litre bottle costs a hefty 50 euros.
"LaVita is cashing in heavily on consumers' desire for good health," said Alina Nitsche of Foodwatch. "This juice is a prime example of the rip-off built on misleading health promises." Part of the problem, she explained, is that the market for vitamin-enriched foods and supplements is booming while barely being monitored. "Federal and state authorities must finally equip food safety oversight bodies to stop consumers from being deceived."
The company, based in Kumhausen in Lower Bavaria, did not initially respond to a request for comment from the news agency AFP. According to Foodwatch, LaVita announced it would once again have the advertising slogan "Fit for Life" reviewed legally. The company has also since stopped using the term "cleansing drink" in its advertising. Foodwatch further stated that the company had admitted not all of its ingredients are "entirely" natural.
Foodwatch has awarded the "Golden Windbeutel" since 2009 to draw attention to the problem of consumer deception in the food sector. Last year, survey participants chose the Milka chocolate bar as the year's advertising lie, after its size was reduced from 100 to 90 grams.
In second place this year, with 21.9 percent of votes cast, was Dr. Oetker's "Airfryer Backin" baking powder. It is marketed as an innovation for air fryers but, according to Foodwatch, is no different from standard baking powder, which is "significantly cheaper." The price, it said, is at least double that of regular baking powder.
Close behind, with 20.8 percent, was Andechser Natur's Matcha Mango yoghurt. According to Foodwatch, the supposedly central ingredient, matcha, makes up only 0.1 percent of the yoghurt. The greenish colour, it noted, also comes from the algae powder spirulina.
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