It all started on an easyJet flight from London to Glasgow. Now, as we all know, easyJet is never a great place to get a drink so when I rhetorically asked if they had any decent cider, I knew what I would be getting. The easyJet cider menu is short and to the point, so much so that I can reproduce it here in its entirety:

Bulmers.

So a Bulmers it was. A compulsive checker of ingredients lists, I automatically flipped the can over for a look and, well I never, Bulmers has only gone and started including a bit more detail on the ingredients. To be fair, they had threatened to do this in a response to direct request on Twitter from James Finch (@thecidercritic) but it was still a pleasant surprise to see it there in black and white.

For the record, here it is:

• Apple Juice from concentrate (66%)
• Water
• Glucose Syrup
• Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite)

So, what was to be made of all this? The first obvious question is ‘why?’ Why would a Big Cider company decide to be a bit more open about what’s in their product when being open necessarily involves admitting to some major weaknesses in said product? Here’s what Heineken UK marketing director Cindy Tervoort said: “We know UK consumers are thinking about what they consume and where it has come from. We have already made the changes on our beers and now our entire range of ciders will give consumers calorie and ingredient information to help them make informed choices.”

Informed consumer choices, then. You could of course choose to be pedantic and call it slightly more informed consumer choices because the new ingredients list isn’t anywhere nearly as transparent as it could be. As various cider heads on Twitter have rightly pointed out, apple juice from concentrate is already a mix of water and concentrate. The two ingredients have been combined with the sole purpose of not having to list the number one ingredient as water.

Still, surely Bulmers deserve some credit for admitting on-pack that the cider only contains 66% apple juice (and that even then, it’s concentrate, not fresh) and that they add glucose syrup?

Well, if only it were that simple. Because Bulmers has undone their commendable ‘step in the right direction’ by adding another new bit of misinformation to their cans: a big logo boldly proclaiming ‘100% British Apples’. The logo is far more prominent than the ingredients list.

Now I’m sure the Heineken legal team have satisfied themselves that this statement is truthful, legal, decent and honest – but I would counter that it’s exceptionally misleading. I’m sure they would argue that they only use British apples, so what’s the problem? The problem – and it’s a biggie – is what your average consumer would take from that logo. For my money, 99 people out of 100 would quite logically assume that the logo means that what’s inside the can is 100% British apples.

Then there’s the bold text underneath claiming ‘natural sweetness’. Does glucose syrup count as natural sweetness? Really?

For me, this is a chance missed by Bulmers to do the right thing.