Coca-Cola customer has won a suit seeking to compel the soft drinks firm
to put nutritional information on glass bottles. PHOTO | FILE
Summary
- Judge directs Nairobi Bottlers and the mother company to ensure nutritional information, email address and storage directions are displayed on the soft drinks bottle, including Coca-Cola, Fanta, Krest and Stoney.
- He argued that all consumers are equally entitled to access the information on the labels and therefore, there was no justification for having the information in the plastic bottles only.
The High Court has ordered giant soft drinks maker Coca-Cola to
put nutritional information and customer care details on its glass
bottles within six months.
Justice Joseph Onguto in a
judgement yesterday said it amounts to discrimination for the beverage
maker to display the information on its plastic bottles and not the
glass bottles.
He directed Nairobi Bottlers and the
mother company to ensure nutritional information, email address and
storage directions are displayed on the soft drinks bottle, including
Coca-Cola, Fanta, Krest and Stoney.
Mr Mark Ndumia
Ndung’u moved to court, accusing the soda bottler of denying its
consumers the information. He said as a consumer of Coca-Cola drink in
glass bottle, he felt discriminated by the firm’s failure to display
nutritional information, email address and storage directions on glass
bottles.
He argued that all consumers are equally entitled to access the
information on the labels and therefore, there was no justification for
having the information in the plastic bottles only.
Mr
Ndung’u said the plastic and glass bottles are of the same size, but
instead of giving the said information in both, the soft drink maker was
using the available space on glass bottle for brand names in big print.
He
argued that the nutritional information is critical to consumers in
their bid to adopt healthy drinking habits. Consumers, he added, need to
know the amounts of calories in order to avoid lifestyle diseases such
as obesity.
“It is impossible to consider the benefit
that a food or drink product would have to a consumer without
considering the nutritional value of the drink,” he said.
Nairobi
Bottlers argued that Mr Ndung’u should have first exhausted the
mechanisms available to address the matter, before moving to court.
The company said the attempt by the petitioner to give the case a constitutional dimension was wrong.
The
company further said there are consumer complaint mechanisms including
the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act, which deal with offences
related to non-compliance with the law.
Further, the
company said there is no legal obligation imposed on a manufacturer,
packer or distributor of soft drinks to display nutritional information
and email address on the label of its products.
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