August 5, 2008 - Innocent, which is Britain's leading manufacturer of "smoothie" drinks, has been accused of misleading consumers about the company's green credentials.

The company, which is running a village fete in London's Regents Park this weekend, claimed on its website that fruit used in its products "always travels by boat or rail."

In reality, the company's European fruit imports are processed in Rotterdam and transported via lorries to packaging plants in the UK.

The statement has now been withdrawn, and a company spokesperson said it had been a "mistake."

But Sam Chase, of environmental campaign group Rising Tide, accused the company of a cynical marketing manoeuvre.

He said: "More people are likely to buy Innocent products if they see a claim like this. It's just customer manipulation and I fail to believe that it could be just be a simple error. It seems like a cynical ploy to increase sales. Most companies these days will use the green agenda to increase sales ... it is disgusting how companies put profit before the planet."

Jessica Sansom, Innocent's head of sustainability, defended the company's environmental policy.

She said: "It makes sense for us to do what we do in Holland. We are using fruit from across Europe, and blending them in Holland stops the individual fruit having to be transported to the UK.

"We have measured our carbon footprint throughout the business, and what we have found is that, although food miles are part of that footprint, they have a relatively small impact."