Tesco plant-based food advert banned as 'misleading'

Tesco's adverts for one of its plant-based food ranges have been banned for being misleading about their environmental benefit.

The adverts for the Plant Chef campaign featured a woman biting into a veggie burger, along with the claim it was "better for the planet".

The UK's advertising watchdog said the supermarket's claims had not been substantiated.

Tesco said it was "disappointed" by the outcome.

The adverts were run last October and November across TV, radio and online, and received 171 complaints from the public, the Advertising Standards Authority said.

The ASA said that Tesco did not have knowledge of the full lifecycle of the burger featured in its advert, and was therefore unable to substantiate its claim that the plant-based patty was better for the planet than ones made from meat.

Tesco had said that the adverts did not make "absolute environmental claims", as they did not say that the product was "wholly sustainable".

The retailer said the focus of the adverts was to highlight price reductions for its Plant Chef vegan food range.

The ASA said that it was generally accepted that by switching to a more plant-based diet, consumers could cut their overall environmental impact.

But it added that some plant-based products contained a combination of ingredients and had "complex production processes" which could "theoretically result in their having a similar, or greater, negative environmental impact than basic plant ingredients, or a meat-based alternative".

As such, the ASA said the adverts could no longer run in their current form.

Tesco said in a statement: "Helping customers to introduce more plant-based food into their diets is part of our ongoing work with the World Wildlife Fund [charity] with the aim to halve the environmental impact of UK shopping baskets."

The ASA said last year it was cracking down on misleading environmental claims made by firms, to ensure ads are "socially responsible."

It comes as many corporations are accused by environmentalists of "greenwashing", which sees them exaggerate the environmental benefits of their products.