The nutritional application Yuka was condemned, Monday, September 13, by the commercial court of Aix-en-Provence for “unfair commercial practices” and “misleading”, as well as for “acts of denigration” against the ABC Industrie cold meats manufacturer. At the end of May, the Paris Commercial Court rendered a similar decision in favor of the Federation of Industrial Butcher’s Caterers (FICT), of which ABC Industrie is a member.
Based in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, the company sells a range of cooked hams, poorly classified by Yuka especially given its nitrite content. ABC Industrie thus accused the application, according to the judgment, of having “Caused significant financial and moral damage, in addition to serious damage to its reputation”, by disseminating false information on the dangers of nitrites for the health of consumers.
“This company mainly sells products by the cut, these are products that you do not see in Yuka”, reacted the co-founder of Yuka Julie Chapon, who decided to appeal the decision. “We were condemned for moral and ‘reputational’ damage”, corn “Yuka’s scoring system did not [toutefois] not questioned “, what “Was their main request”, she added.
25,000 euros in damages
In its decision, the Aix-en-Provence commercial court orders Yuka to pay ABC Industrie 25,000 euros in damages, instead of the 714,000 euros requested by the company. The application will also have to withdraw the appreciation ” high risk “ attributed to the additive E250 (nitrite) and delete any mention specifying that the nitrites would be “Carcinogenic” Where “Genotoxic”. The company ABC Industrie, on the other hand, was unsuccessful in its request for removal by Yuka of the qualifiers. ” Wrong “ and “Mediocre” attributed to its affected products.
“We are quite satisfied”, the court recognizes that “The information provided by Yuka must be fair and scientifically proven”, for his part congratulated the general delegate of the FICT, Fabien Castanier.
At the end of May, the Paris Commercial Court had banned Yuka “To operate a direct link” between a petition aiming to ban the addition of nitrites or nitrates in delicatessen products and the application sheets relating to the latter. Yuka also appealed against this decision. With the association of consumers Foodwatch and the League against cancer, Yuka participates in a campaign calling for the withdrawal of nitrites in cold meats.
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