UK honey producer Rowse Honey has had its television advertisement banned for making a “misleading” claim.

The TV advert, which screened in April last year, made the claim that the honey was a natural source of slow-release energy. It showed a boy squeezing honey on to his porridge before going to school.

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The advert received nine complaints challenging the claim.

The Advertising Standards Authority upheld the complaint on the basis that the advert was “misleading” because it did not make clear the ad was made in comparison to other foods.

The ASA ruled that the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form again.

Commenting on the ASA ruling, Kirstie Jamieson from Rowse Honey said: “As a company we continue to support the fact that honey provides a natural source of slow-release energy for the health and scientific reasons highlighted by Dr Ruxton and the supporting nutrition science behind this claim.”

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She added: “It is worth highlighting that we submitted our ad claim and the supporting evidence to Clearcast prior to making the ad and received unqualified approval. As a result, we are very disappointed by the ASA’s recent ruling. We have made minor changes to our TV advert and have had this approved by Clearcast ahead of airing again in 2013.”

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