Bakery chain punished for misleading promotion

THE Shanghai operator of bakery chain 85°C has been fined 150,000 yuan (US$23,077) for false promotion, the city’s market watchdog said yesterday.

Forty-three Shanghai outlets of the Taiwan-based bakery chain were found using dried meat floss powder to make “smoked chicken dried meat floss bread” and “spicy dried meat floss bread” since October 2015, the Shanghai Industry and Commerce Administration said.

The two bread, priced 11 and 8 yuan respectively, were falsely advertised as being made of authentic dried meat floss with an elastic texture, the bureau said.

Hexia (Shanghai) Catering Management Co Ltd, the Shanghai operator of the bakery chain, used floss powder to make the bread to cut costs. It was ordered to stop the illegal practice and fined by the Fengxian District Market Supervision and Management Bureau. The company is registered in Fengxian.

The bureau said it was difficult for buyers to distinguish dried meat floss powder and dried meat floss, and such acts infringed consumers’ rights.

It said the promotion of the bread was also misleading.

In another case, the Shanghai unit of American sports apparel, shoes & accessories manufacturer Under Armour had to pay a total of 70,000 yuan in fines and illegally made profit to the Huangpu District Market Supervision and Management Bureau.

Tests by the bureau revealed that the anti ultraviolet performance of its imported knitted sportswear for women fell short of the “UPF30+” marked on their labels.

Also, the Shanghai company of G-Star RAW had to pay 1.49 million yuan in fines plus illegally made profit after its coats and knitted skirts failed quality tests for poor color fastness to sweat stains and rubbing.

In all, 94 pieces of illegal clothing were seized by the Huangpu District market watchdog.

Elsewhere, the Shanghai sales company of Suprememil, a baby formula brand, was fined 140,000 yuan by the Hongkou District market watchdog for claiming that the baby formula can partially or fully replace breast milk on its website, which is against China’s advertisement law.

The company also claimed that probiotics Howaru, which is sold on its website, had the effect of relieving constipation and diarrhea, again violating Chinese law.

China has banned food producers from making claims on disease treatment and using medical treatment terms.