ACCC files case against Coles over ‘fresh’ bread
THE consumer watchdog has filed legal proceedings against Coles for allegedly misleading customers with claims that bread was “freshly baked in-store”, after former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett urged the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to take action against the supermarket giant.
Mr Kennett last year sent a box of Coles’ Irish-made Cuisine Royale bread and muffins to the ACCC, claiming Coles was conning customers and calling for the ACCC to examine the bread’s labels that say “baked today, sold today” and sometimes “freshly baked in-store”.
The bread has been parbaked, frozen and shipped to Australia in refrigerated containers before being finished by Coles.
The ACCC now alleges that the labels are likely to mislead consumers into thinking that the bread was prepared from scratch in Coles’ in-house bakeries on the day it was offered for sale.