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Luv-a-Duck to face court over ‘misleading’ claims

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched legal proceedings against duck processor, Luv-a-Duck, claiming its marketing is  misleading and deceptive.

The ACCC alleges that Luv-a-Duck engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by use of one or more of the following statements on its packaging, website and brochures:

  • A statement that its ducks were ‘grown and grain fed in the spacious Victorian Wimmera Wheatlands’, and other promotional statements of a similar nature;
  • a statement that its ducks were ‘range reared and grain fed’.

Ducks processed by Luv-a-Duck, the ACCC claims, did not in fact have substantial access to outdoors.

ACCC commissioner, Sarah Court, said, "The ACCC's Compliance and Enforcement Policy lists credence claims as a new priority area, particularly those in the food industry with the potential to have a significant impact on consumers.

"Consumers must be able to trust that what is on the label is true and accurate. Businesses need to make sure they are not misleading consumers into paying a premium for products that don't match the claims made on the label," she said.

The matter has been filed in the Melbourne Federal Court's Fast Track List, with the first Scheduling Conference listed for 29 April, 2013.

Fellow duck producer, Pepe's Ducks, has also felt the wrath of the ACCC recently, taken to court for making similar claims about its 'open range' ducks. Earlier this year, the federal court ordered the company to pay $400,000 in penalties.

 

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