Tesco discontinues "The Food Doctor" functional food products

Tesco, the UK supermarket chain, has discontinued the sale of "The Food Doctor" functional food products.

News from gmfoodnews.com - 14 May 2003

Tesco discontinues "The Food Doctor" functional food products

Another Functional Food Failure

Tesco Supermarkets [UK] has confirmed that it is ceasing the sale of products under a brand known as "The Food Doctor".

These "functional food" products, which are intended to provide specific benefits, have not sold well because of their high cost, dubious marketing claims and lack of clear market positioning.

Products in The Food Doctor range had been criticised by the UK Consumers Association. For example, the description of "Get It On Bar - Sex fruit & seed bar" claimed that:

"the nutrients in this bar may balance hormones and with added ginkgo biloba support the flow of blood to the extremities" [1]

Health claims made for The Food Doctor "Better Dressed Creamy Basil Dressing" were incorrect, as this product still contains a high proportion of fat. [2]

The failure of The Food Doctor functional food products, introduced to Tesco in January 2002, follows an earlier failure by Novartis to launch in 1999/2000 a range of functional products
under the brand name Aviva. [3] Novartis has not tried to revive this brand in the UK.

Marcus Williamson of gmfoodnews.com comments:

"Yet again, food companies have tried to introduce functional food products which no-one wants.

Supermarkets such as Tesco should concentrate instead on improving their real food products, especially organics, sourcing locally, and eliminating GM ingredients and GM feedstuff from the food chain." [4]

Notes for Editors

1. The Consumers Association Press Release
"Which health claims can you trust?" (29 January 2003) http://www.which.net/media/pr/jan03/general/healthclaims.html

2. The Consumers Association Press Release
"Misleading labels that tell it like it isn't" (30 July 2002)
http://www.which.net/media/pr/jul02/general/misleadinglabels.html

3. Novartis withdraws "functional" food product from the UK market (22 July 2000)
http://www.gmfoodnews.com/no220900.txt

4. Although Tesco food products are claimed to be free from GM ingredients and derivatives, Tesco producers are still allowed to feed GM feedstuff to animals producing Tesco eggs, meat and dairy products.

Contact

Marcus Williamson
Editor, Genetically Modified Food-News
Website: http://www.gmfoodnews.com/
E-mail: marcus@myrealbox.com