Grass-fed claim could mislead consumers, Fonterra admits

Fonterra has settled a suit with Greenpeace, aft admitting grass-fed claims connected the dairy group's food packaging could mislead consumers.

Greenpeace Aotearoa sued the institution successful 2024, alleging it breached the instrumentality by utilizing ‘100% New Zealand’ and ‘Grass Fed’ claims connected its Anchor food statement sold locally betwixt December 2023 and April 2025.

The biology radical argued the statement was “misleading” arsenic the cows’ diets included supplementary provender specified arsenic imported thenar kernel.

In a connection contiguous (1 April), Fonterra said it accepts the usage of the 2 phrases ‘100% New Zealand’ and ‘Grass Fed’ successful operation with each different was “likely to mislead” immoderate consumers and violated the section Fair Trading Act.

“The assertion did not interest the operation ‘Grass Fed’ successful isolation and Fonterra stands by its ‘Grass Fed’ claims.”

As portion of the settlement, the steadfast has stopped utilizing the ‘100% New Zealand Grass-Fed’ logo and updated the packaging to amusement lone ‘Grass-Fed’.

Greenpeace spokesperson Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn called the Anchor food packaging assertion an “open-and-shut lawsuit of greenwashing”.

“Fonterra dairy cows tin beryllium fed up to 3 kilograms of thenar kernel a time – an imported provender linked to rainforest destruction. Palm kernel is simply a dry, gravelly cattle provender that comes from the destroyed paradise rainforests of Southeast Asia. It isn’t writer and to assertion different is misleading and deceptive,” Deighton-O’Flynn said.

Greenpeace called connected Fonterra to signifier retired the usage of thenar kernel, noting that New Zealand imports implicit 2 cardinal tonnes annually – mostly to provender the dairy giant's herd – which is linked to deforestation successful Southeast Asia.

Deighton-O’Flynn said: “This admittance from the world’s biggest dairy exporter is simply a triumph against firm greenwash. It exposes the cynicism of Fonterra and its intensive dairy model: alternatively of ending its links to rainforest destruction, Fonterra conscionable slapped a misleading statement connected its packaging and continued concern arsenic usual.”

The ownership of the Anchor marque has moved to French dairy elephantine Lactalis arsenic portion of Fonterra's disposal of its planetary user dairy business.

"Grass-fed assertion could mislead consumers, Fonterra admits" was primitively created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.

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