A2 Milk Company suing Lion over “naturally contains A2 protein” claim

The A2 Milk Company is suing beverage company, Lion, for using the statement, “naturally contains A2 protein”.

The A2 Milk Company markets its milk and dairy products based on the fact it only contains the A2 milk protein, which it says is “less likely to cause digestive discomfort”.

All milk sold in Australia, excluding A2 milk, contains both the A1 and A2 protein.

Lion, which is owned by Japanese beverage company, Kirin, has been stating on the front of some of its Pura and Dairy Farmers milk products that it “Naturally contains A2 protein”.

In its Statement of Claim, The A2 Milk Company argues “naturally contains A2 protein” represents to the consumer that PURA and Dairy Farmers product “are different from other regular cows’ milk products by virtue of their A2 Protein content.”

A spokesperson for Lion told Australian Food News that Lion can confirm the A2 Milk Company has issued legal proceedings against Lion but it considered it inappropriate to comment further as the matter is now before the court.

The A2 Milk Company initiated legal action against the ABC television program, “The Checkout” in June 2015 alleging misleading and deceptive conduct after the show challenged some of its product claims.

In other recent news, The A2 Milk Company recently issued higher profit projections for the 12 months ended 30 June 2016.