UK ad watchdog doesn’t swallow Pret a Manger’s ‘natural’ sandwiches, made with E472e, E471 and E300

The British advertising watchdog has censured Pret a Manger for claiming that its sandwiches use natural ingredients, in a blow to the chain’s wholesome credentials.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ads on Pret’s Facebook page and website, which included the promise that it made “proper sandwiches avoiding the obscure chemicals, additives and preservatives” used by other fast-food chains and talked about “good, natural food” were misleading.

The watchdog said consumers understood “natural” to mean foods made with ingredients straight from nature. “It is misleading to use the term to describe foods or ingredients that employ chemicals,” it said in its ruling. “We considered that because some of Pret a Manger’s foods contained E-numbers … those foods did not constitute ‘natural’ foods for the purposes of the [food labelling] guidance.”

The decision followed a complaint by the Real Bread Campaign, which is calling for an “honest crust act” that would force manufacturers to list all their ingredients. Some are left out on the basis they are just part of the processing.

Pret says its sandwich bread contains three E-number ingredients – E472e, E471 and E300 – which are used to strengthen the dough and reduce the number of large holes in the bread. The additives are widely used in the industry to make sandwich bread, it said.

“We would really like to find a solution, and our food team has been working hard trialling recipes that do not use emulsifiers,” a Pret spokeswoman said. “They have not yet found one that meets the standards our customers expect.”

The Real Bread Campaign’s coordinator, Chris Young, said: “We welcome this ban, which sets a precedent that sends a clear message to food companies that unless they walk the natural food walk, it’s misleading to talk the natural food talk. This ruling is good for shoppers … and for the small, independent bakery and eatery owner who serve genuinely all-natural real bread sandwiches.”