The Checkout takes aim at Swisse again over claims made to Mumbrella over labels
Swisse is set to come under fire again from ABC show The Checkout after telling Mumbrella a segment on the program last week about its Ultiboost Chlorophyll product used “old and out of date” label references.
However, a subsequent investigation by the consumer affairs show has discovered the new labels for the product have not actually yet hit stores.
In last week’s episode Kirsten Drysdale examined claims made about the Chlorophyll product, and the recommended dose of 18 pills per day, which the next day Swisse telling Mumbrella the claims aired were not on new packaging.
Drysdale told Mumbrella they had been “surprised” by the statement, adding: “We had bought the product not long before we shot the segment and we checked the website about two days before we went to air and it certainly at that point still said the optimal dose was 18 tablets a day.
“After we saw the statements we popped to Priceline to see what was on the shelves and sure enough it was the same stuff we had seen, so I’m not sure what their idea of out of date is.”
The father of Swisse founder Radek Sali and The Checkout are also still locked in a defamation court case in Victoria over a segment in series one of the show.
Drysdale explained The Checkout team sought clarification on the statements issued by Swisse, saying the product with the new label has yet to hit shelves.
She added: “Swisse have confirmed to us that the recommendation of up to 18 tablets is still current, they’ve also acknowledged that was still the optimal dose on the Swisse website on March 4 which was the most recent cached version of the site we could access.
“They say it’s on the website because it reflects the products currently available in the market and that there will be a cross-over with the current and new products during the changeover. But we have not yet been able to see any of the new products with the new label.”
A Swisse spokesperson confirmed the recommendation of 18 tablets is still current, stating: “There will be a cross over in the current and new products during the changeover, during which both products will be fully compliant.
“The dose recommendation of chlorophyll+ from eighteen tablets to a recommend dose of 6 tablets will change with new labels soon to enter the market, with that process in place since December 2013.
“6 tablets (1 serve) contains 21% of the RDI (Recommend Daily Allowance) for vitamin A, 198% of the RDI for vitamin C, 220% of the RDI for vitamin E, 29.4% of the RDI for niacin, 30% of the RDI for vitamin B12 and 52.5% of the RDI for iron.
“There may be times when requirements for the above listed nutrients is increased (eg. stress, fatigue) at which point the consumer may take more (ie. “You can take up to 3 serves daily if you choose to boost your nutrition further.”)”
Tonight the ABC show will examine last week’s segment alongside Swisse’s statement to Mumbrella and new comments made by the company given to them, as part of the F.U. Tube segment hosted by Julian Morrow.
“Julian is presenting FU Tube tonight and we just have a little look at what they told you and what they told us and point out that we were still able to buy the original version after the story went to air,” said Drysdale.
In tonight’s episode, the show will also examine if there is any differences between cheap and expensive HDMI cables, taxi industry reform and issues consumers are presented with when deciding which brand of tuna to buy.
Mumbrella held a video hangout with The Checkout stars Kate Browne and Julain Morrow before the first episode of this series.
Miranda Ward
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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