File photo Source: Shutterstock/Roman.Volkow

RETAILER LIDL HAS received a slap on the wrist from the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) in its latest rulings for an ad involving its fish sales.

The ad in question involved the retailer’s sales pitch for its InisMara brand of fish products.

The range includes hake, cod fillets, and breaded cod fillets, with the tagline “same great taste, same great value… fresh new look!”.

The complainants regarding the advert, Nicholas Lynch Limited, asserted that the hake in question came from Namibia, Africa, and the cod from the Barents Sea in the Arctic. Nicholas Lynch said that given the fish had been frozen at source and then defrosted, using the word ‘fresh’ in this context was “misleading”.

The advertiser’s response was to say that it had used the word “fresh” in the advertising copy as it believed it was permissible to do so. It also pointed out that the defrosted nature of the products was indicated on the relevant labelling.

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When it was made clear to the company that this was not correct, Lidl had removed the word “fresh” from their defrosted fish products.

The ASAI concluded that the ads were in breach of sections 4.1 and 4.4 of the Code of Standards for Advertising and Marketing Communications.

As the ads in question had since been amended, the ASAI decided that no further action was required.