Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
Four paid for Facebook ads, for Aquapure, a health and wellness retailer, seen in August 2022:
a. The ad included text that said, “Attention: are mom’s putting their kids at risk without knowing it!? If you’re washing your fruits and vegetables with just tap water, you could be putting you and your little one at risk. In fact, researchers examined data on eating habits and pregnancy outcomes for 325 women who went through 541 cycles of fertility treatments at a clinic in Boston. And the results are shocking…. They found that by simply swapping one serving of high-pesticide produce for a fruit or vegetable with less pesticide residue, a woman’s odds of becoming pregnant increased by 79% and her odds of delivering a live birth by 88%. If you’re ready to make a one time investment into your family’s future, Try [sic] the AquaPure for 90 days 100% risk free. Learn more at: AquaPure.co. *This study was done by: Dr Jorge Chavarro, of the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston”. An accompanying video showed vegetables being washed using the product. The voice-over and on-screen text said, “Still worry about the food safety? Worry no more! Watch how dirty the water turns out after cleaning my fruits with Aquapure pesticide remover. Using this Aquapure pesticide remover feel much safer knowing your food is cleaner. Heavy metals! Hormones! Pesticide removal rate: 99.9%. Deeply clean fruit, meat and vegetables. Very convenient. Start eating clean and save money!”
b. The ad included the same text as ad (a). An accompanying video showed someone pulling a fruit apart with their fingers, with a shocked face emoticon in the bottom right-hand corner and the sound of someone saying, “Eughhh”. The product was then shown being used in water with different vegetables and text said, “PURIFY HARMFUL SUBSTANCES”. Further text said, “Pesticide removal rate: 99.9%. PURIFY HARMFUL SUBSTANCES. ELECTROLYTIC ION PURIFICATION. STRONGLY REMOVE RECIDUES [sic]. AQUA PURE. JUST WATER. GRAB YOURS NOW. AQUAPURE FRUIT & VEGETABLE PURIFIER”.
c. The ad included the same text as ads (a) and (b). An accompanying video showed a bowl of strawberries in water. A woman said “… there’s a frickin’ eugh!” on seeing a small spider in the bowl. On-screen text said, “You’re eating contaminated fruits and vegetables. Introducing AquaPure purifier. Effectively cleans fruits and veggies from pesticides and other nasties. Enjoy tastier fruits and veggies as nature intended. Increases your appetite for fruits and vegetables. See the difference today”. A voice-over at the end said, “I made the veggies and I was shocked how dirty the water was.”
d. The ad included text that said, “Did you know that 10-15% of pregnancies result in a miscarriage!? Many people are unaware that pesticide exposure from fruits and vegetables could lead to a decreased chance of a successful pregnancy and delivery. AND that many pesticides used on fruits and vegetables are hydrophobic…..meaning they repel water. So if just tap water won’t work, how can you clean your produce properly to give yourself the best chance of a successful pregnancy? Check the link below to find out…. Aquarepure.co”.
Issue
1. The ASA challenged whether the advertiser could substantiate the claims in ads (a), (b) and (c) that using their product to remove pesticides from fruit and vegetables could increase the chances of becoming pregnant and delivering a successful birth.
2. The complainant, a board member for the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority, challenged whether the claim in ad (d) that the product could give someone the best chance of a successful pregnancy was misleading.
Response
1. Nils Olav Nystog t/a Aquapure said that their research team had located multiple sources that confirmed pesticide consumption could negatively affect a woman’s potential to carry a healthy child to term. Specifically, a study from the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston which concluded that eating fruits and vegetables with high amounts of pesticides may affect a woman’s ability to conceive and bear children. They further provided a link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website entitled, “Pesticides – Reproductive Health”, that stated those who work closely with pesticides could be exposing themselves to higher chances of miscarriage, birth defects and other problems.
They provided a May 2022 lab report whereby the Aquapure produce purifier was added to 2 L of bacterial solution that contained E. coli and 6 g of salt. The purifier ran its cycle twice and the sterilisation rate was measured. The average sterilisation rate of all three test groups was 99.98%. They supplied an August 2022 lab report whereby rape leaves were stained with chlorpyrifos and added to 2 L of water and 2 g of salt for one test, 6 g of salt for a second test and no salt for a third test. The purifier ran for five minutes and the sterilisation rate was measured. The average sterilisation rate of all three test groups was 91.8%. Aquapure said rape leaves were part of the kale, turnip, and broccoli family.
They provided a September 2022 lab report whereby glyphosate was added to water which contained an Aquapure produce purifier. The purifier ran its cycle and the amount of glyphosate was measured. The level of glyphosate was shown to decrease from 6100 µg to 2500 µg. They said that the report was a clear indication that their product did remove and destroy a large amount of the chemical.
They supplied an October 2022 lab report whereby vegetables that carried salmonella were added to water, with 2 g of salt, which contained an Aquapure produce purifier. The purifier ran its cycle twice and the killing rate of salmonella was measured. The average killing rate of all three test groups was 87%. They said they were clear about rinsing the produce under the tap after using their product. This information was on their website, in their email correspondence and in the user manual.
2. They said multiple studies could be found explaining the correlation between pesticides and pregnancy. They again linked the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston’s study.
They said however that the ad had been taken down very soon after they had been published. This was due to the response from a member of the public reacting negatively to the ad due to their personal experience. Aquapure therefore decided they were not comfortable with the ad remaining live. They said that it would not be shown again and they never intended for the ad to cause a negative reaction but they recognised the sensitivities around the topic for men and women.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ads stated that mothers could be putting their children at risk if they washed fruit and vegetables with tap water only. In addition, it said that evidence showed that women who swapped one portion of high pesticide vegetables or fruit for a portion with lower pesticide levels, increased their chances of becoming pregnant by 79% and taking the pregnancy to term by 88%. The ASA considered that consumers would therefore interpret the ads as promoting a product that could remove pesticides linked to infertility and miscarriages and therefore could enhance a woman’s ability to conceive and have a successful pregnancy.
Aquapure had provided a link to the CDC website that stated exposure to pesticides could increase the chances of a woman having a miscarriage or birth defects. However, we noted that the guidance was aimed at women in the United States who worked in specific sectors of the economy and not women in general or those who lived in the UK, which we understood had a lower amount and concentration of pesticides compared to the United States.
Aquapure had also cited one study in the ad to support the claims. That referred to research published in 2018 in the United States involving 325 women who were undergoing fertility treatment. The study compared the intake of high and low pesticide residue fruits and vegetables to determine any link with a lower probability of live birth. The study concluded that consumption of high pesticide residue fruit and vegetables was associated with lower probabilities of pregnancy and live birth following infertility treatment.
We noted that the study looked at a narrow set of individuals, specifically women already undergoing fertility treatment and based in the United States. Therefore, the cohort considered were not representative of all women seeking to get pregnant, and specifically not those to whom the ad was addressed. We further understood that the range and concentration of pesticides in the United States was much higher compared to the UK. That meant that any results or conclusions about the existence of pesticides on fruit and vegetables could not be accurately transposed to conclusions about similar produce in the UK.
We acknowledged the laboratory reports provided by Aquapure. The May 2022 report showed their product had a sterilisation rate of 99.98% for E. coli. However, the test was not carried out on fruit and vegetables, but in pure water where E. coli was artificially added. Similarly, the September 2022 report showed their product had reduced glyphosate (a herbicide) by approximately 60%. However, we again noted that the test was not carried out on fruit and vegetables but in pure water where a herbicide was artificially added. Therefore, in both cases the results did not demonstrate the effect of their product on everyday fruit and vegetables, as described in the ads.
The October 2022 report showed vegetables with salmonella being used with the product and an average killing rate of 87%. However, the vegetables had been washed at the end of the test under tap water for 10 seconds. Because the ads were directly contrasting the impact of their product against washing under tap water and because the use of tap water in the test could have affected the results, we did not think the results adequately supported the claims in the ads.
The August 2022 report showed rape leaves stained with a pesticide called chlorpyrifos and after 5 minutes of use with the product the removal rate of the pesticide was shown as 88%, 91.7% and 95.6% in the three tests. We acknowledged that rape leaves were related to other vegetables such as turnips, broccoli and cauliflower. However, rape leaves while edible, would not be found in everyday fruit and vegetables. In addition, while we noted the independent testing, as it demonstrated an effect on only one food substance and after one set of testing, we were unable to conclude that the results could be applied more widely to all fruit and vegetables and did not support the 99.9% pesticide removal rate in the ads.
For that reason, we had not seen adequate evidence that Aquapure’s product could remove pesticides from everyday fruit and vegetables; that it could be more successful than washing fruit and vegetables using tap water; and that pesticides could be found in the UK on produce at such levels that they could be linked to infertility and miscarriages. We therefore concluded that the claims had not been substantiated and that the ads were likely to mislead.
On that point the ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading Advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).
2. Upheld
The ASA acknowledged Aquapure had withdrawn the ad.
Ad (d) stated that 10% to 15% of pregnancies ended in a miscarriage and that exposure to pesticides on fruit and vegetables lowered the chance of a, “successful pregnancy and delivery”. It explained that some pesticides were hydrophobic and invited consumers to visit their website to see how they could best clean their produce to give themselves the “best chance of a successful pregnancy”. We considered that consumers would therefore interpret the ad to mean that pesticides were linked to miscarriage, that the same pesticides existed on produce in sufficient numbers in the UK as the US to cause miscarriages and that the advertiser’s product could remove the pesticides to give women the opportunity of having a healthy, full-term pregnancy.
Aquapure directed us to the evidence summarised in point 1. However, we had not been persuaded by the evidence that pesticides were linked to miscarriage, that pesticides existed on such levels on UK produce that they could cause miscarriages, that the Aquapure product could remove these pesticides from fruit and vegetables and therefore that it could give women the best chance of a successful pregnancy. We therefore concluded that the claims had not been substantiated and that the ad was likely to mislead.
On that point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading Advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Nils Olav Nystog t/a Aquapure to ensure that adequate evidence was held to support all objective claims and to not exaggerate the performance of their products.
