Turmeric firm rebuked for health claims
The Turmeric Co, a supplement brand founded by former footballer Thomas Robson-Kanu, has been cautioned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for republishing claims that implied its products could help to prevent, treat or cure human disease.
Republished Health Claims
A page on The Turmeric Co’s website featured testimonials for its mixed box of turmeric juice shots in which selected words had been blurred. The blurred words were surrounded by references to being “cured”, “halved”, or “very much reduced”.
Meanwhile, text read: “Blurry here. Crystal clear on Trustpilot. Regulations mean we can’t show everything on this page, but you can read the lot over there.”
The brand said the testimonials were genuine consumer reviews from the website Trustpilot that it had included on its website to reflect customers’ experiences of using its products.
However, the method of blurring certain words and phrases, while attempting to adhere to the CAP Code, ultimately proved to be insufficient in removing the implied health benefits of the products. The context in which the blurred words appeared, alongside phrases such as “cured” and “very much reduced”, was deemed to still convey a clear message about the potential health benefits of the turmeric juice shots.
ASA Ruling
The ASA considered that the blurring did not remove the overall meaning of the testimonials. Consumers were “effectively invited to fill in the omitted wording from the context of each statement”, it said.
Although no specific health conditions or diseases were named in the ad, the testimonials were “likely to be understood as claims that the Turmeric Co’s food supplements could prevent, treat or cure human disease,” it concluded.
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“Supplements are classed as foods and our rules make clear that ads can’t make claims that a food can prevent, treat or cure a human disease or condition,” an ASA spokesperson said.
The ASA’s ruling emphasizes the importance of responsible advertising in the supplements sector, where claims about health benefits can have a significant impact on consumers.
The Turmeric Co accepted it was in breach of the code and said it had removed all testimonials that referred to health conditions from its website.
The former Wales, West Bromwich Albion and Reading forward founded The Turmeric Co in 2018, after crediting turmeric shots for aiding his recovery from a career-threatening knee injury.
Product Availability
The brand’s products are stocked in retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Ocado.
Robson-Kanu told The Grocer that the company had been engaging constructively with the ASA and removed the advertisement, which featured customer testimonials from Trustpilot, before this ruling.
