Coles labelling ketches-up with them

Coles Supermarkets Ltd has been fined and has removed the home brand tomato sauce from its online store over false labelling.

Fair Trading Commissioner Victoria Thomson said this enforcement action was the result of a consumer complaint and investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

“Earlier in the year, a consumer in Waterford purchased a bottle of Coles home brand tomato sauce online with her grocery shopping,” Ms Thomson said.

“Like so many of us, Jeanette Guerin likes to support Australian producers and at the time of shopping, she noted the sauce was made using 90 per cent Australian ingredients.

“When her groceries arrived, it was a very different story with the bottle labelling saying the sauce was made with only 20 per cent Australian ingredients.

“Ms Guerin received no response to an email she sent Coles and no follow-up to a further complaint made at her local store about the conflicting ingredient statements. While she received a refund for the item, she was left with no choice but to seek official intervention to have the problem with the labelling fixed.

“After an investigation by the OFT, Coles was fined $13,320 for the misrepresentation of the country of origin of the ingredients in the sauce.

“Coles was fully cooperative and has removed this item from its online store while it corrects the information about the sauce.

“Under legislation, and in principle, consumers have every right to make a complaint to the OFT if an item purchased is not what it says it is. They expect honesty and accuracy when it comes to labelling.”

Ms Guerin said that people should get the product they think they’ve paid for.

“I’m patriotic and believe that products made using Australian produce are best and try, whenever I can, to buy Australian,” Ms Guerin said.

“I’ve been a long-standing customer of Coles, which is why I was most disappointed to find that tomato sauce was not made with 90 per cent Australian ingredients as advertised online, but only 20 per cent.

During the investigation, the OFT established Coles knew that due to sourcing difficulties (because of COVID-19), the ingredients for this product would temporarily change from at least 90 per cent local ingredients to at least 20 per cent. Although Coles took steps to change the product’s specification in its online store, the update did not go live and the company’s quality assurance processes did not pick it up.

The product supplier has indicated the product would soon return to 90 per cent locally sourced ingredients. To ensure no other consumers are affected, Coles has confirmed that the product will not return to its online store until all of the 20 per cent bottles have cleared the supply chain.

To find out about the OFT’s complaint process, including how to make a consumer complaint, please visit the OFT website.