UK Advertising Standards Authority supports Food Standards Agency

"Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Back in April 2009 I complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about a TV ad by Unilever for Their polyunsaturated margarines, Flora, Flora Pro-Activ, Bertolli and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. In the ads, a voiceover stated 'So, have you heard the big fat truth? Not all fats are bad. The truth is, some fats are not only good, they're essential. They're called essential fats because we need them to grow, renew, be healthy today and tomorrow and one of the best sources is spreads like these because they are made from seed or vegetable oils for the essential fats in your daily diet. And that my friend is the big fat truth'. At the same time, on-screen text stated 'Specifically include Flora, Flora Pro-Activ, Bertolli or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter as part of a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle'.

The ad showed a spread on different types of bread and melting into peas, sweetcorn, asparagus and baked potato. On each occasion, the spread formed the words 'FAT', 'BAD?', 'TRUTH', 'essential', 'need' 'healthy' and 'daily'.

The basis of my complaint was that, while the margarines were called the good fats, butter was made the villain. Why? Because it is a 'saturated fat' and 'saturated fats' are harmful, aren't they?

Well, no, actually there has never been any study which shows that saturated fats are in any way harmful. In fact, what studies there are of the different types of dietary fats, it is only the processed vegetable oil-based margarines such as those listed above which have been shown to be harmful to health.

Hence the purpose of my complaint. I challenged them on three points:

1. That they exaggerated the health benefits associated with polyunsaturated fat spreads
2. That they encouraged the consumption of unhealthy levels of the spreads
3. That they vilified a perfectly healthy product (butter) with no supportive evidence.

To support my case, I detailed the case with supportive evidence in this letter. The ASA's rejection of my complaint is at http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_46779.htm

It seems to me that the decision not to uphold my complaint was based on the UK Food Standards Agency's and WHO's belief that saturated fats are harmful and that a natural level of fat in the diet is unhealthy. The fact that the science shows clearly the opposite was of no consequence. It seems that it doesn't matter that 'healthy eating' has been shown to increase a wide range of serious degenerative diseases, if politicians say that black is white, then it must be so.

So Unilever has won this small battle; the losers are not me and the other complainant, but the unsuspecting general public.