Scam in the supermarket: Jumbo and Blije Kip must adjust their packaging

Health claims on products that are not healthy at all, ingredients that are barely in them or have been replaced by shady alternatives, tampering with their origin; it is rife among supermarket products. Fortunately, there is food watchdog Foodwatch, which addresses companies and politicians with an enthusiasm bordering on rabidity over false claims and misleading marketing.

Free-range eggs?!

After two objection proceedings, Foodwatch has now also been vindicated by the Advertising Code Committee (RCC) in its fight against misleading packaging for Jumbo and Blije Kip organic and free-range eggs. The Committee concludes that these producers breached the rules by misleading consumers about hens being allowed to roam freely. Due to avian flu, hens were required to be kept indoors, meaning the chickens had been inside for months.

Chicken in the meadow

Earlier, Foodwatch had already won cases against Albert Heijn, Aldi, Lidl, Plus and Wegdam (at Dekamarkt). In September 2024, the RCC ruled that the supermarkets were misleading consumers with their egg packaging. The complaints against Blije Kip (outdoor egg, organic and free-range) were rejected because the cartons were supposedly accompanied by a small flyer explaining the requirement to keep hens indoors. The RCC also found that the illustrated chicken in the meadow on the packaging of Jumbo’s organic eggs did not suggest that the eggs came from hens that lived in the meadow.

The RCC has now reconsidered that decision. Foodwatch has ultimately prevailed in both cases, and the Committee has overturned its earlier rulings: it finds that Jumbo’s illustration is indeed misleading to consumers. And there was no explanatory flyer in the Blije Kip cartons. Moreover, the RCC rules that this would not be a solution to the misleading packaging.

Nationwide requirement to keep hens indoors

What happens next? The Committee is asking the supermarkets “not to advertise in this manner anymore”. This means that Jumbo and Blije Kip (following Albert Heijn, Aldi, Plus, Wegdam and Lidl) must adjust their egg packaging whenever a new requirement to keep hens indoors is introduced. Since another nationwide requirement to keep hens indoors was imposed on Wednesday, 20 November 2024, Foodwatch will investigate over the coming months whether the cartons are changed. First, however, there is a 14-day objection period during which Jumbo and Blije Kip can object to the rulings. If they do not, the decision will become final.