THE SOON-to-be new owners of Dairy Farmers Co-operative will have some serious brand repair work after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today announced that it had obtained orders in the Federal Court against Australian Co-operative Foods, Dairy Farmers trading name, for engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct.

Between February 6 and March 19 of this year ACF used packaging from its award winning Mil Lel Parmesan style and Westcare parmesan cheese brands on excess stocks of Romano style cheese.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel noted that the deliberate nature of the action contravened the Trade Practices Act and included statements such as ‘authentic’ and ‘true Parmesan cheese’ on the packaging.

He said consumers who purchased the falsely packaged cheese also got a product that was higher in fat and lower in calcium than stated on the label, while the Westcare product also had a higher than listed sodium content.

National Foods last week won support from the board of Dairy Farmers for its takeover offer and intends establishing a joint venture with Warrnambool Cheese and Butter to manage the Dairy Farmers cheese assets – including the multi award winning Mil Lel Parmesan.

These deliberate actions by ACF will compromise consumer support for its established consumer brands should leave the joint venture partners feeling less than impressed.