AN advert for trendy organic seaweed has been banned for “misleading” claims that it contained more iron than steak.

Trading standards officers contacted advertising watchdogs after spotting an eBay listing placed by the Atlantic Kelp Company, as well as claims on the firm’s website.

The Derbyshire-based firm’s website featured the claim “Did you know that kelp contains more iron than steak?” while the eBay product listing featured the claim: “Iodine is important for regulating growth and metabolism.”

The claims were found to be in breach of rules regarding food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims following an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The Atlantic Kelp Company referred to the United States Department of Agriculture database entry for beef in the form of “grass fed”, “strip steaks”, “lean only” and in “raw” form, which stated that per 100g of beef there was 1.85 mg of iron. They also provided a nutritional profile for kelp which stated that per 1g of kelp there was 0.7 mg of iron.

But the ASA dismissed the firm’s argument and ordered that the claims should not be used in advertising again.

An ASA spokesman said: “We considered consumers were likely to understand the claim that kelp contained ‘more iron than steak’ to have the same meaning as the authorised comparative nutrition claim ‘increased [name of nutrient]’.”