Justice Lindgren of the Federal Court today ruled that Woolworths Ltd had published misleading advertisements in contravention of Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The Court held that the advertisements misled consumers about the source of all its beef sold in some regional supermarkets in New South Wales.
The advertisements were published in regional newspapers in northern NSW and in Queensland during the period between 22 February 2001 to 1 March 2001. The full-page, colour advertisements included the words 'WOOLWORTHS Beefing up the Local Economy' in large print and depicted an image of a butcher. The advertisements were in connection with the refurbishment and expansion of Cargill's Tamworth abattoir during that time.
In the advertisements, Woolworths claimed that all the cattle it used came from 150 cattle suppliers located in the North West and New England regions of New South Wales, where in fact its Economy beef and some of its Premium beef were sourced from cattle suppliers outside the area. Justice Lindgren said that "The word 'all' means nothing less then all…".
"Supporting the local economy is particularly important to people living in rural and regional areas and plays a considerable role in their consumer choices", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today. "Business must not take advantage of this loyalty by misrepresenting the facts concerning the source of their products.
"Business must be especially careful to provide consumers with accurate information when making claims that are unequivocal and unqualified in nature".
The ACCC is seeking Court orders for Woolworths to publish corrective advertisements in the same regional newspapers, explaining how Woolworths misled consumers. The ACCC is also seeking injunctions to restrain Woolworths from advertising in this manner in the future. The Court is expected to make final orders on 20 August 2002.