Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 03:00
AFP News Briefs ListGSK, Coca-Cola part of British consumer watchdog probe: report
Major international brand names and producers such as Coca-Cola and GlaxoSmithKline have been asked by Britain's consumer watchdog to supply pricing information, the Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.
Citing a five-page Office of Fair Trading (OFT) document listing brands being targeted as part of a price-fixing probe, the newspaper said that other manufacturers such as Kimberly-Clark were also contacted.
British media reports have said that major househould products firms Procter and Gamble and its Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever have been contacted by the OFT in connection with the same inquiry, while supermarket giants Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons have confirmed OFT investigators had been to their offices.
Chocolate bar-seller Mars and consumer goods firm Reckitt-Benckiser have also been named by British newspapers as companies that have been contacted by the OFT.
According to the Telegraph, the companies that have been contacted by the OFT had been given until June to provide the pricing details requested.
