Italian supermarket chain Eately has been imposed a fine by the country’s antitrust association, AGCM, for selling wine bottles with misleading labels.

The Local reported that between April 2014 and January 2016, the supermarket chain sold wine bottles that carried labels reading ‘vino libero’, which means ‘free wine’.

The labels indicated that the wine did not contain chemical fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides.

“The labels indicated that the wine did not contain chemical fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides.”

However, these wines, on investigation, were found to not be completely free of sulphites, which are used as preservatives, reported The Drinks Business.

These wines did contain reduced levels of sulphites however; 40% lower than the maximum standard permitted by the EU.

According to ACGM, such labels on bottles were "highly misleading".

Besides imposing the fine, the regulatory authority has ordered the supermarket chain to include on labels that the wine "contains at least forty percent less sulphites than the legal limit".

Founded by Oscar Farinetti in 2007 in Italy, the supermarket chain has several outlets across the world, including New York, Chicago, Tokyo, and Dubai.