DAIRY groups will not take action against a television advertisement that portrays butter as dangerous to children's health.
The ad for Meadow Lea margarine features a cardiologist warning that just two pieces of buttered toast each day can lead to a potentially lethal build-up of cholesterol causing heart disease and stroke.
The ad is being broadcast despite a new scientific study that has found no evidence people eating saturated fats in dairy products and red meat were more likely to die of heart attack or stroke.
For decades, livestock industries have been plagued by the diet theory that recommends people avoid fatty red meat or high-fat dairy products.
But Dairy Australia and dairy manufacturers believe a counter campaign would only add to consumers' confusion and frustration.
Dairy Australia dietitian Glenys Zucco said the claims were extreme and one food could not be singled out as causing a particular health problem.
Australian Dairy Products Federation executive director Dr Peter Stahle said it was an extravagant claim by the manufacturers of Meadow Lea.
But he said it was not productive to get involved in a negative butter-versus-margarine advertising war.
