Product liability and misleading labels

It is obligatory that the manufacturer of any product correctly and clearly label it so that the consumer knows what they are buying. If they fail to do this they face landing themselves in trouble with Trading Standards or having a product liability claim made against them.

However, some terms on labels that describe products can be quite ambiguous, particularly when it comes to food. Have you ever gone into your local supermarket and bought a farmhouse cake and wondered whether it was actually made by a farmer's wife in a quaint little country farmhouse? The Food Standards Agency is cracking down on the industry using such terms so lightly. Read about food regulation and product liability.

Food labelling and the law
The Food Labelling Amendment Regulations state that ingredients, especially those that can trigger allergic reactions in pre-packaged food and alcoholic drinks, should use easily understandable and effective labelling. See www.food.gov.uk.

The importance of accuracy when it comes to food labels cannot be stressed enough. Potentially fatal accidents can occur as a result of eating an incorrectly or unclearly labelled food. For example, those with nut allergies can have severe reactions if they consume anything containing nuts or anything that was manufactured close to nuts. Such reactions may include the throat swelling and closing up, leaving the consumer unable to breath. A reaction that no consumer desires to experience and grounds for a product liability case that no manufacturer wants to come up against.

Allergies and intolerances are becoming more widespread as we increase the quantity of processed foods that we consume. Specifically, intolerances to dairy and wheat products are increasingly common as our bodies are unable to process such foods.

Food intolerances can cause stomach bloating, cramps, nausea, diarrhoea and constipation as well as other personal injuries. People that suffer these symptoms as a result of consuming foods which they were not aware contained products they were intolerant too may have good grounds for making a product liability claim.

So what do these terms mean?
The following terms are regularly displayed on food labels. It is against the law for a producer or manufacturer to advertise their products using any of the following terms if they do not fit the relevant criteria.

Vegan: a product that does not contain any animal products including meat, fish, dairy (milk, butter, cream and cheese), eggs, some alcohol products (animal fats are used as part of the brewing process) and animal derived products (leather and silk).

Organic: the producers, manufacturers and processors of the food are registered and meet stringent standards and the product has a European Certifying Authority code number.

Fair-trade: products which guarantee that the farmers who produced them receive fair prices for their produce. Fair-trade products include coffee, bananas and chocolate.

Freedom food: meat, eggs and dairy products that have been reared, transported and slaughtered in accordance with welfare standards compiled by the RSPCA.

Little red tractor: products from a farmer or grower who has been measured against strict production standards.

Making a product liability claim today
If you, or someone close to you, have suffered personal injury as a result of a faulty or misrepresented product and would like to make a product liability compensation claim, then you have come to the right place.

We can help you to claim for pain, suffering, lost earnings, medical expenses such as prescriptions and any belongings which were damaged at the time of your accident.

Our no win, no fee policy means that you won't have to pay your personal injury solicitor's fees in the unlikely event that your claim is unsuccessful. But further to that, we guarantee that you won't be charged a penny for our services, no matter what the outcome of your claim and you will also get to keep 100% of compensation awarded to you.

All you have to do to make a product liability claim today is fill out one of our online claim forms or call 0800 10 757 95.