Latest news with #RSPCA-approved
NZ Herald
22-05-2025
- NZ Herald
A ‘trick': Advertising expert lifts lid on McDonald's nugget claim
'It says right there made with 100% beef,' he continues, pointing to the packet of jerky he's eating, 'which is such a funny twist of words because it's made WITH 100% beef, not made OF 100% beef. 'With the McDonald's thing, it was that their chicken nuggets are made WITH 100% chicken. You know there's a lot of other stuff in there, and some of it might not BE 100% chicken, but it's made WITH 100% chicken.' 'You'll see it everywhere now. Subtle marketing trick,' he adds. 'Still tastes good'. The video quickly amassed hundreds of comments, with many expressing their shock over the revelation. 'Thank you for your public service,' one person wrote. 'I'm so tired of sleazy food company marketing,' someone else admitted. 'Once you work in marketing, your eyes are opened too much,' another replied. While Luke is American, the marketing approach isn't unique to the US, and a check of the McDonald's website reveals a similar story. Here, Chicken McNuggets are advertised as 'made with tender juicy 100% chicken breast'. But a look at the ingredient list shows it's not that simple. Chicken is indeed the first ingredient, but it's followed by water, flour (wheat, corn), canola oil, thickeners, starches, salt, mineral salts, spices, sunflower oil and dextrose, among others. In other words, while the nuggets are made with 100% chicken breast, they are not made of only chicken breast. In response to this, McDonald's shared a statement to saying that they're 'not in the business of misleading our customers'. 'When we say our famous Chicken McNuggets are made with 100% RSPCA-approved breast chicken, we mean it,' the statement read. 'The additional ingredients listed in our nutrition and allergen fact sheet go into the delicious marinade and coating. 'Being transparent about this is important, so that our customers can make informed decisions about their menu choices.' Businesses may be breaking the law if they engage in misleading or deceptive conduct. It makes no difference whether a business intends to mislead or not, but rather how the average consumer perceives the claim. The video highlights how carefully crafted language can be used in advertising to shape our understanding of what's really in our food.
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
RSCPA revokes Huon salmon's accreditation after video showing live fish being dumped in Tasmania
RSPCA Australia has revoked its accreditation of major Tasmanian salmon company Huon after the release of a video that it said showed the inhumane handling of live fish. The withdrawal follows an initial 14-day suspension after the Bob Brown Foundation published drone video that showed writhing live salmon being siphoned into a tub containing dead fish. The fish were killed by a major disease outbreak at south-eastern Tasmanian fish farms earlier this month. In the video, the tub was then sealed. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Huon Aquaculture said it was 'extremely disappointed' about the RSCPA decision after a 'single incident of non-compliance' during an 'unprecedented, challenging period'. The RSPCA's chief executive, Richard Mussell, said no Tasmanian salmon companies were certified as meeting the RSPCA-approved standard after the decision. 'While we acknowledge this was a single incident following many years of certification, the decision to withdraw a certification reflects how seriously we take incidents like this that compromise animal welfare,' he said. 'Fish, including those farmed for human consumption, are sentient beings and, like other animals, can experience pain and suffering. When they're farmed for food, the welfare of fish must be front of mind.' The announcement adds to the pressure on the state's salmon industry after a month in which more than 1 million salmon died during an outbreak of an endemic bacterium, Piscirickettsia salmonis. More than 5,500 tonnes of fish were dumped at landfill and rendering plants in February. Fatty chunks of fish have washed up on beaches in the Huon Valley and on Bruny Island in February and March, prompting public protests. The industry is also at the centre of a political storm over Anthony Albanese's plan to rush through legislation next week to protect salmon farming in Macquarie harbour, on the state's west coast, from a legal challenge over its impact on the Maugean skate, an endangered fish species. Mussell said salmon was one of the most intensively farmed animals and it was 'important that we can demonstrate the measures needed to ensure their welfare is considered'. Huon's general manager of stakeholder and government relations, Hannah Gray, said the company acknowledged the seriousness of the 'extremely distressing' incident and that it had put steps in place to ensure contractors upheld 'high animal welfare standards'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion She said Huon had been farming 'to a standard of animal welfare that no other Australian salmon farming company has been able to achieve' for the past seven years. 'We will continue to farm to this standard,' she said. Bob Brown Foundation campaigner Alistair Allan said the RSPCA decision was 'the correct one' and that the drone video showed the 'grim reality of factory-farmed Tasmanian salmon'. Allan said the incident showed Albanese's support of salmon farming was 'out of touch'. 'He needs to walk back his support of the industry,' he said. The federal Coalition and the Australian Greens wrote to Albanese on Thursday asking to see the legislation to change national environmental law to protect the industry in Macquarie harbour that will go before parliament on Tuesday. Albanese said 'people will see the legislation next week'. 'We'll be introducing it and we expect it to be carried,' he said. It is expected the bill will be designed to abruptly end a long-running legal review by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, into whether an expansion of the salmon industry in the harbour in 2012 was properly approved.
