Advertising watchdogs have quashed complaints against ads for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream which suggested that nuts were added to the product by hand.

Ben & Jerry’s poster campaign on the London Underground stated: “We usually try to put a handful of walnuts in every tub. How many you get depends on who makes it.”

The Advertising Standards Authority said the claim was unlikely to mislead, since the quantity of walnuts added to each tub of ice cream was chosen randomly - not scientifically - and the amount in each tub would therefore vary.

Ben & Jerry’s explained that the term “handful” referred to a measurement commonly used in food preparation.

The company said there was a minimum and maximum amount of walnuts added to each tub of ice cream, which meant that some tubs had more nuts than others.