A UK-based company has received a fine for misleadingly advertising its “skinny” Prosecco as a low-calorie beverage. 45-year-old Marcus Hilton, the director of Prosecco 1754 Ltd, appeared before Leeds Crown Court to face charges of breaching the Food Safety Act 1990. Hilton admitted to wrongfully selling the “misleading product” and pleaded guilty, whereby he and the company were each charged with two counts. Prosecco 1754 Ltd has been ordered to pay £2,700 in fines and £2,000 in court costs, while Hilton must pay £1,400 in fines and £2,000 in court costs.
The prosecution was carried out by Ayman Khokhar on behalf of West Yorkshire Trading Standards. Khokhar argued that the company’s website presented a “low-calorie” version of the alcoholic drink that was “likely to mislead.” Furthermore, the same charge was applied to the company’s Skinny Prosecco Rose 1754. Judge Thomas Bayliss agreed, stating that “the Prosecco has got too much sugar in it, more than it should have.”
The case originates from a Trading Standards visit in May 2019 by officer Zafar Shah, who followed up on a complaint alleging the sale of “skinny” branded products online. Shah took samples, and subsequent reports confirmed the violation of food and drink regulations, with the Skinny Prosecco sample and its website description found to breach the required 30% reduction in energy content for a product to be advertised as “reduced.”
Khokhar made it clear that no individual’s health was in danger, although he cautioned that there could have been a diabetic who had consumed the drink. However, the judge judged this to be hypothetical and found no evidence of any health risks. Nonetheless, head of Trading Standards, David Strover, condemned the company for failing to amend its labelling despite repeated requests to do so
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