French advertising authority assesses sustainability claims
The Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP), the French advertising ethic panel, declared today that advertisements by the French company Intermarché are misleading and ruled that they must be discontinued. The ARPP warned against the risk of confusing consumers, as Intermarché's own label “Responsible Fishing” is too similar to the Marine Stewardship Council label.
Commissioner Damanaki commented: "I share the views of European consumers' associations, which attach great importance to sustainability labels: the Intermarché case is the evidence that precise rules may be needed in this domain. Providing better information to the consumers through improved labelling is one of the main aims of the Commission proposal on the Common Organisation of the Markets in fishery and aquaculture products, which is part of the wider reform of the Common Fisheries Policy".
The decision of the Jury de Déonthologie Publicitaire (French)
