Procon prohibits Coca-Cola from selling Del Valle Fresh in the Federal District

The Procon-DF suspended the sale of Del Valle juice in the Federal District, after a complaint by Idec (Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection), which analyzed information on the product’s website, labels and advertisements and found that the Del Valle Fresh does not have the minimum amount of fruit to be considered juice, nectar or soft drink.

“On the label, the drink reports the presence of ‘juice concentrate’, but does not bring the amount of juice used in the composition, which is just over 1% in all flavors”, says the Procon-DF, in a note. The organ of the Secretariat of Justice and Citizenship says that the information misleads the consumer, demonstrating misleading advertising.

The Procon decision, valid since Friday (13), suspends the supply, distribution and sale of Del Valle Fresh products, until the labels are corrected, clearly and ostensibly informing the characteristics, qualities and properties of the beverages. .

Sought, Coca-Cola claims that the illustration on the label of the Fresh line of the Del Valle brand reflects the raw material present in the drink.

“And due to its commitment to transparency with the consumer, it makes available on the respective label all information regarding its composition, including the amount of juice present in the product, in strict compliance with current Brazilian legislation and regulatory standards of the competent bodies of the category” , says the manufacturer.

According to Coca-Cola, the products of the Fresh line of the Del Valle brand “are not and have never been classified as juice or nectar”. The company states that it will follow all the determinations of Organs competent bodies.

“Coca-Cola should also carry out counter-propaganda for clear and correct information about the products sold”, says the note from Procon-DF.

The decision is precautionary. Coca-Cola cannot sell Del Valle Fresh products until the advertising is completely corrected, otherwise it will suffer sanctions, such as a fine and seizure of the goods. The decision also affects Brasal Refrigerantes SA, based in Taguatinga, which is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of Coca-Cola branded products in the Federal District.

In less than a month, this is the third time that Procon-DF has suspended the sale of food due to allegations of misleading advertising.

The first case involved McDonald’s with the McPicanha line that did not include the cut of meat in its snacks, as implied by its name.

Then it was Burger King’s turn, which has already changed the name of its pork shoulder sandwich.

Last week, Brazilian representatives of the fast food chains McDonald’s and Burger King sent letters to the Federal Senate in which they refute the accusation of misleading advertising with their sandwiches (respectively, McPicanha and Whopper Ribs).

The companies claim that they have always made it clear to consumers what the composition of the meat used was.

McDonald’s also said that Brazilians are used to consuming and buying products whose names do not necessarily refer to their composition.