Juice maker in a squeeze

Juice giant Simply Squeezed is set for a stint in the dock after the Commerce Commission confirmed it is to prosecute the Hawke's Bay outfit for alleged breaches of the Fair Trading Act.

The action comes less than a fortnight after Frucor Beverages announced it was buying New Zealand's leading premium chilled juice maker for an undisclosed sum pending commission sign-off.

If found guilty by the courts the company faces a maximum fine of $200,000, while any individuals deemed guilty of fair trading breaches face fines not exceeding $60,000.

In a statement issued yesterday, the competition watchdog said it was prosecuting Brownlie Brothers trading as Simply Squeezed following a year-long investigation into the promotion and labelling of its products.

The allegations are related to a television advertising campaign that ran from March to May 2008 in which the juice maker implied its product was 100 per cent sourced from Hawke's Bay oranges.

Furthermore, the company has been warned against sending out wholesale price lists to the hospitality industry describing its juice products as "100 per cent squeezed juice", when that was not the case.

"Consumers often make purchasing choices based on first impressions gained from the names and labels of products," said Commerce Commission director of fair trading Adrian Sparrow.

Key to the watchdog pursuing a prosecution were the company's use of water extracted soluble orange solids (wesos), or "pulp wash" during production and the use of imported kinnow juice concentrate a variety of citrus fruit grown in Pakistan.

- © Fairfax NZ News