Resolution Statement: Complaint 01577-15 Bilgorri v Men’s Health

Decision: Resolved - IPSO mediation

Resolution Statement: Complaint 01577-15 Bilgorri v Men’s Health 

Summary of complaint

1. Chloe Bilgorri, acting on behalf of the Natural Hydration Council, complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that Men’s Health had breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “Find your hydro power”, published in its April 2015 edition. 

2. The complainant expressed concern that the magazine had inaccurately stated that many bottled water brands use plastic bottles that contain BPA. She said that all single-use bottled water in the UK is packaged in PET plastic, which does not contain BPA. 

3. The magazine did not consider that it was an established fact that all bottled water in the UK was sold in BPA-free plastic bottles. 

Relevant Code Provisions

4. Clause 1 (Accuracy) 

i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures. 

ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology published. In cases involving the Regulator, prominence should be agreed with the Regulator in advance. 

Mediated outcome

5. The complaint was not resolved through direct correspondence between the parties. IPSO therefore instigated an investigation into the matter. 

6. The magazine offered to publish the following wording on the contents page of a forthcoming edition: 

The feature "Find Your Hydro Power", which appeared in our April 2015 edition, contained the sentence "unlike many plastic-packaged brands the latest sports bottles are free from BPA". The Natural Hydration Council has since assured us that all single-use mineral water bottles manufactured in the UK have been made from BPA-free plastic since the late 1970s. www.naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk 

7. The complainant accepted the magazine’s offer as a resolution to her complaint. 

8. As the complaint was successfully mediated, the Complaints Committee did not make a determination as to whether there had been any breach of the Code. 

Date complaint received: 12/03/15

Date complaint concluded by IPSO: 21/05/15

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