TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: NALC WEBINAR TO DISCUSS ALTERNATIVE ENFORCEMENT METHODS

Claims about misleading food advertising are typically made to federal agencies, the courts, or the manufacturer, but there is another avenue – BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division, a nonprofit organization that provides information and ratings on businesses and charities.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture have primary responsibility for regulating packaging and point-of-purchase advertising for food sold in retail establishments. Food labeling laws and regulations also cover the claims made through product marketing. If false or misleading claims are made, complaints may be made to entities within the government or to organizations that provide self-policing for food and agriculture companies.

“Companies can use the National Advertising Division process by filing challenges to advertisements on NAD’s online portal and paying the fee,” said Counsel Kim Bousquet of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. “NAD offers a fast-track option for single, well-defined issues, a standard track option for typical challenges, and a complex track for challenges that require complex claim substantiation.”

The Better Business Bureau says NAD is an industry-led system designed to build consumer trust in advertising and support fair competition in the marketplace.

Bousquet and Alli Condra, also an associate at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, will be discussing several highprofile examples of how food and agriculture companies use NAD, as well as various components of the organization. They’ll place this in context through an overview of federal food requirements during the NALC’s upcoming webinar, “How Food and Ag Companies Can (and Do) Use the National Advertising Division to Combat Unfair Competition and Test the Waters of Emerging Issues.”

The webinar will be held at 11 a.m. on Wed., Aug. 16. The webinar is free of charge and registration is online.