Coors Brewers has been slammed for making claims that drinking beer does not cause beer bellies. The Burton-based brewery, whose brands include Carling and Grolsch, took out an advert in The Grocer magazine last August. It claimed beer was low in calories, a source of vitamins and that drinking it in moderation could slow down fatty deposits in arteries and protect against heart disease, The Publican reported on March 10.

Pressure group the Food Commission made a formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about Coors' actions. The group was particularly angered by claims that it was late-night kebabs and curries that caused beer bellies, rather than beer drinking. The ASA has criticised Coors for these claims and ordered the company not to repeat them. However, despite the arguments of the Food Commission, the claims in the advert were not deemed to be inaccurate.

Paul Hegarty, director of communications for Coors, said: “We provided evidence about our information and as a result the ASA did not contest the the technical validity of our claims. "However, we put medicinal claims about an alcoholic product in an advert and that is against advertising practise. We accept the ASA’s criticism in that regard and we won’t repeat it.”

12 March, 2004