Popular pizza chain may have broken the LAW after tricking furious customers into eating fake meat
- A pizza chain come under fire after it admitted to secretly serving fake meat
- a marketing lawyer claims the establishment may be in breach of the law
- The pizzas had been advertised as featuring a medium-rare burger patty
- Burger patty was made of a plant-based product made to feel like meat
A pizza chain that came under fire after it admitted to secretly serving fake meat to customers could have broken the law, according to an expert.
Thousands of customers flocked to buy Hell Pizza's Burger Pizza when it launched in New Zealand last week.
The pizzas were advertised as featuring a medium-rare burger patty – however, the company failed to mention it was made with fake meat.
Rae Nield, a marketing lawyer, told Stuff there is a high risk that the business had breached the Fair Trading Act.
Scroll down for video
Thousands of customers flocked to buy Hell Pizza's Burger Pizza when it launched in New Zealand last week. The pizzas were advertised as featuring a medium-rare burger patty – however, the company initially failed to mention the meat-free element
New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries revealed on Twitter they would be meeting with the establishment
'What does a reasonable consumer expect if it says 'burger' and there's no qualifier – it doesn't say "veggie" or "meat-free'. A reasonable consumer is going to think that means meat,' Ms Nield said.
New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries revealed on Twitter they would be meeting with the establishment.
'We're aware consumers have raised concerns about the Burger Pizza,' the tweet read.
Share this article
'We're meeting Hell Pizza to discuss requirements of the Food Act, including the importance of consumers being aware of ingredients so they can make informed decisions, incl decisions about allergies.'
The pizza was made with plant-based Beyond Meat patties, which has the appearance and texture of meat.
Customers were furious when they finally discovered they had been duped.
'Unacceptable and wrong. To misrepresent a product is a form of stealing,' one person said.
'Lying by omission is still lying. I won't be buying Hell ever again,' another person said.
'Would they accept fake currency for fake meat pizza?' one person asked.
'I want to know what I'm eating before I buy! Simple as that Hell,' another person said.
'What a joke so you're selling these off as chunks of medium rare burger patty and its not even meat?' wrote another.
Ben Cumming, general manager of Hell Pizza, said they had wanted to introduce the product in an unexpected way.
'We care about the planet and want to start a conversation and raise awareness about sustainable food choices,' he said.
'A lot of people are instantly put off by the idea of fake meats, so we made the call to not reveal its meat-free origins to (people) eating it because we were so confident they'd enjoy these patties.'
Mr Cummings previously told Stuff the company had not been misleading as customers were told the product was meat free if they asked.
'We're pretty familiar with the Fair Trading Act because of the business we're in and we're confident we're not in breach of any rules.'
Hell Pizza revealed the truth behind the patties in an online survey last week.
According to Consumer NZ, Hell Pizza had not breached any rules as they had not claimed the product was meat.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Hell Pizza for comment.
Ben Cumming, general manager of Hell Pizza, said they had wanted to introduce the product in an unexpected way
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
