73100-17SUPERMARKET giant Asda received a maximum £5,000 fine for claiming mangoes could help beat cancer. Asda Stores Limited, whose parent company is US firm Wal-Mart, pleaded guilty to breaching the Food Labelling Regulations 1996.

And now outraged cancer sufferers have launched a scathing attack on the store because they feel it has preyed on the vulnerable.

Swindon Council's trading standards department took Asda to court after spotting a sign in its Orbital Park store in north Swindon June last year.

Part of the sign, relating to mangoes read: "Their antioxidant properties help to fight cancer."

This contravened regulations which state that any labelling claiming that a food prevents, treats or cures a disease is illegal.

Passing sentence at Swindon Magistrates' Court yesterday, chairman of the bench David Rogers said that Asda's shelf sign was misleading.

And as well as the £5,000 fine, the supermarket was ordered to pay £1,140 in costs.

Prosecutor Phillip Wirth said the firm's head of regulatory affairs Gordon Madden wrote to the council to say the sign was designed to promote greater consumption of fruit and vegetables.

This, claimed Asda, was to further the Government's five portions of fruit and vegetables a day campaign of healthy eating.

But the sign was put out in error as the company's trading standards team had not given approval for publication.

A series of oversights followed, including a failure to recall the sign even after experts brought its suspect wording to the attention of Mr Madden in January 2003.

"The council is not opposed to a five a day message," said Mr Wirth. "But this promotion was contrary to promoting an appropriate lawful message."

Nicholas Haggan QC, defending, argued Asda had made a genuine mistake, did not mean to mislead customers and though words in the claim were illegal they were not untrue.

"The company is morally blameless," said Mr Haggan. "The company has fallen foul to legislation which never intended to prosecute responsible companies such as Asda.

"There is no evidence to suggest that any consumers were misled and, it is my submission, that nobody was likely to be mislead.

"After the error had been made no steps were taken to recall the notice. It's not clear how this happened but it was a mistake, a simple mistake."

Outside the court, Asda staff dressed up as giant fruit to protest against the decision and company spokeswoman Rachel Fellows said she could not believe the prosecution had come this far.

"This is an absolute storm in a fruit bowl," she said. "We cannot believe we are in the dock for telling people that eating fruit and vegetables is good for them."

A charge under the Cancer Act 1939 was dropped after the prosecution offered no evidence.

Ben Payne