The Chairman of the Advertising Code Committee has ruled that the packaging of "Zonnatura Teff" is misleading. According to the complainant, the packaging gives the impression that the product consists entirely of teff (a cereal), while the ingredient list shows that it is actually a multi-grain breakfast, with only 40% teff, supplemented with maize groats, buckwheat flour and rice.

The Chairman allows the complaint (in Dutch). Why? The starting point for food products is that the average consumer reads the list of ingredients. But a correct list of ingredients is not enough if the rest of the packaging gives the wrong impression. This follows from the so-called Teekanne judgment of the Court of Justice.

The Chairman looks at the packaging as a whole. On the front it says "Teff" and "Flocons de Teff" in large type. As a result, consumers will assume that the product consists entirely of teff (flakes). This impression is reinforced on the back: it only explains what teff is, without mentioning the other ingredients. The image - a heap of cereal grains in different colours - is also insufficient to make it clear to the average consumer that the product is a mixture of cereals. The Chairman does not motivate this explicitly, but presumably because consumers will not recognize or know the grains in the picture. Conclusion: while the ingredient list is correct in itself, it does not sufficiently correct the misleading impression of the packaging. As a result, consumers are misled about the composition of the product

So how should it be done? Zonnatura will add the word 'multigrain breakfast' to the front of the packaging. This way, consumers can immediately see that the product contains more grains in addition to teff. Therefore, only a recommendation is given ‘insofar necessary’.

What can we learn from this? Make sure the packaging, seen as a whole, presents an honest and clear picture of the product. Do images and text match what is inside? A correct ingredient list is not a free pass.