Tesco rebuked over greenwashing in adverts for plant-based food

Tesco has been rebuked by the UK advertising watchdog after the country's largest supermarket chain failed to show that its Plant Chef burgers and plant protein-based foods were more environmentally friendly than their meat equivalents. The Advertising Standards Authority, which has launched a crackdown on so-called "Greenwashing", barred Tesco from repeating a series of adverts on TV, radio, online and in the press which said consumers could make a difference to the planet by buying the products. Tesco's Plant Chef products, launched in 2019, are among the ranges brought out in recent years by retailers and food manufacturers using proteins from peas, beans and other plants to create alternatives to meat-based foods such as burgers and sausages. The ASA investigated the Tesco adverts, which featured a woman "Doing her bit for the planet" by switching to Plant Chef, after receiving complaints. The supermarket "Did not hold any evidence in relation to the full lifecycle of any of the products in the Plant Chef range, or of the burger featured in the ads", the ASA said.

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