Panel SA: Burger King mocks flavoring in sandwich and owner of Sazón complains to Conar

The use of flavorings and other additives on the fast food menu, which made noise this week with McDonald’s steak sandwich without steak, is a subject that has been on the rise in the sector in recent weeks.

The competitor Burger King, in one of its advertising campaigns, recently, mocked the use of monosodium glutamate by the food industry. But Ajinomoto, owner of Sazón, complained to Conar (advertising self-regulation council).

Finally, last week’s Conar meeting recommended altering the Burger King campaign that takes the motto: “if no one wants to add coloring, preservatives or flavorings, why do people insist on using them?”. Burger King itself also has a rib-scented burger, the Whopper Rib.

According to Burger King, the product has no artificial colors, preservatives and flavorings. The aroma is natural. The company says that it “has always communicated clearly in all its materials the composition of the hamburger, produced with pork meat (swine shoulder) and with a rib flavor”.

The network also states that all information about the composition of the hamburger is available to consumers in advertising and menus.

The lawyer for the consumer protection NGO Idec Mariana Gondo says that the Consumer Protection Code guarantees the right to information, which must be clear, adequate and ostensible.

“If there is a possibility of error, precisely because the company insists on highlighting what the product does not have, we can say that we are facing misleading advertising. We are talking about the name of the sandwich,” he says.

This week, McDonald’s was notified by the Ministry of Justice after publicly confirming that its new McPicanha is not made with picanha, but with a flavored sauce. The network even suspended the sale of the hamburger, but said this Friday (29) that the product will return to the menu with a new name.

Joana Cunha with andressa Motter and Paulo Ricardo Martins