Organic juice company apologises for misleading labels

West Auckland-based company Phoenix Organics has reached a settlement with the Commerce Commission about the way it labelled juice temporarily made with non-organic mango puree.

As part of the settlement the company has placed an apology on its website.

"We sincerely apologise to any of you who may have been misled by the temporary relabelling of this juice," it said.

In a statement today, the Commerce Commission said Phoenix had admitted the labelling of its 275ml organic orange, mango and apple juice product was likely to breach the Fair Trading Act.

Due to problems with the supply of imported organic mango puree in September and October 2003, Phoenix had put a small label on the back of about 100,000 affected bottles, stating that the mango puree was temporarily non-organic. The label had covered a BioGro Standard mark, the commission said.

But director of fair trading Deborah Battell said the main representations made on the front of the product as to its organic nature remained unchanged.

"The overall impression a consumer would have gained from the labelling was that the product met organic standards. Anyone purchasing a bottle from behind a counter at a cafe, for example, would not even see the back label until the drink had been purchased, and most likely opened," she said.

Phoenix had been responsive to the commission's inquiries into its labelling and had worked quickly to resolve the issue.

"This case nevertheless sends a clear message to all businesses about the importance of ensuring that the claims they make about their products are accurate at all times," Ms Battell said.

"It is not good enough to continue to claim that a product has special qualities prominently on the front label while contradicting those claims on a back label that consumers may not be able to see. It is especially important when consumers are paying a higher price for this special quality."

- NZPA