Food companies given 2016 CHOICE Shonky Awards

Posted by AFN Staff Writers on 5th October 2016

Consumer advocacy group, CHOICE, has announced tits 2016 Shonky Awards with a small handful of food companies being given CHOICE’s booby prizes

Every year the CHOICE Shonky Awards, “names and shames” a list of products CHOICE alleges are unreliable or are taking advantage of Australian shoppers.

Food products on this year’s list included:

  • Kellogg’s Pringles: Choice awarded Pringles a Shonky this year as it dropped its price from AUD $4.10 to $4.00 but decreased the size of the chips and its packaging. CHOICE said that Pringles reported the size decrease occurred as production was moved from the US to Malaysia.
  • Nestle Milo: CHOICE gave Nestle a Shonky for giving Milo a 4.5 star health rating. The 4.5 star rating applies when milo is drunk with skim milk. However CHOICE said if drunk with full cream milk it only has a 2.5 star rating.
  • Camel Milk Victoria: This camel milk was given a Shonky for making health claims such as is “known to help improve the immune system by fighting off bacteria and infections and aid those who have autism, diabetes, tuberculosis, cancer, stomach ulcers and more”. These claims are however not permissible food health claims.

 A Shonky was also awarded to the supermarket sold Vanish Preen Powerpowder owned by Reckitt Benckiser for not performing well in a product test performed by CHOICE.