ALDI Foods Pty Limited - s.87B undertaking

The ACCC has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from ALDI Foods Pty Limited (ALDI) in relation to representations on its Stonemill branded oregano product, following an investigation into breaches of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), contained in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA). 

ALDI is a global supermarket chain and operates over 400 stores in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. ALDI is the sole retailer of the Stonemill oregano in Australia. In 2015 it sold 126,809 units of Stonemill oregano.

During 2015, ALDI made representations through statements on the packaging of its Stonemill branded oregano product that the product contained 100 per cent oregano. These statements included the text 'Oregano' on the front of the package and the ingredients list on the back of the package which says 'Ingredients: Oregano (100%)'. Tests results indicated the Stonemill branded oregano product contained ingredients other than oregano and the substantial presence of olive leaves.

In response to concerns raised by the ACCC, ALDI:

• commissioned its own independent testing of its oregano product
• removed its Stonemill oregano and mixed herb products from its shelves
• offered refunds to consumers
• put a notice in store and on its website apologising to customers
• stated it will now ensure that all of its oregano is certified pure oregano, and
• reviewed its supply arrangement, and has engaged an additional core range supplier for oregano.

   

ALDI also offered the ACCC a court enforceable undertaking that it will for a period of three years:

• annually, obtain written evidence from a laboratory, which confirms that the laboratory has tested one sample of the product supplied and represented by ALDI as only oregano and found that each sample only contained oregano,
• establish and implement a process for annual testing of the composition of random samples of herb or spice products supplied by ALDI, other than oregano, and
• retain the test results obtained, and if requested, provide the ACCC with a copy of those test results.