Lack of confidence: New Zealand’s agriculture-driven industry prides itself on high-quality dairy exports. | Photo credit: Company website
A Kiwi dairy company has been caught for falsely claiming its products were “100% pure New Zealand” despite using butter imported from India.
Dairy firm Milkio Foods Ltd was fined US$261,452 on Monday (August 26, 2024) after the New Zealand Commerce Commission took it to court for making false claims about the origin of its butter products.
The Commerce Commission said in a statement that the Hamilton-based company misled customers about its ghee products, “making claims such as ‘100% pure New Zealand’ despite importing key ingredients from India.”
New Zealand’s agriculture-driven industry prides itself on high-quality dairy exports, and overseas customers covet milk and butter from its rich pastures.
“Milkio leveraged this reputation to promote its products,” Commerce Commission spokeswoman Vanessa Horne said.
The company also submitted incorrect and incomplete information to obtain approval to use the Fernmark logo (a trusted symbol to identify New Zealand-made products).
Milkio pleaded guilty to 15 breaches of New Zealand’s Fair Trading Act for providing false information and using the Furnmark logo and licence number without proper authorisation.
“This punishment serves as a warning to those attempting to falsely claim the New Zealand brand,” Mr Horne said.