The three little guys on Rice Krispies boxes are in trouble for claiming that their cereal supports the immune systems of children. The Federal Trade Commission announced on June 3 that Kellogg Co. had agreed to pull back on health claims for the puffy cereal. In a statement, commission chairman Jon Leibowitz said, “We expect [...]
Nearly all of the herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation contained trace amounts of lead and other contaminants, and some supplement sellers made illegal claims that their products can cure cancer and other diseases, investigators found. So begins an article in the New York Times on a Government Accounting Office report released May [...]
To understand why Sen. John McCain introduced a bill on dietary supplements, read the press releases. The legislation announced Feb. 3 addresses public safety, but mostly it’s about the reputation and revenue of professional and Olympic sports. The evidence: McCain says in the release that “a little over a year ago the NFL suspended six [...]
GUEST POST BY DAVID MARK The Washington Post recently published an article asserting that vitamin D is shaping up to be the nutrient of the year, if not the decade. The article started factually strong but weakened at the end when it made specific recommendations. The Post references an article in Consumer Reports titled “Most [...]
Marketers of nutritional supplements often complain that they do not know what the FDA wants. Even after the agency sends a warning letter about misleading claims and advertising, its staff does not explain what would fall within the rules. That’s the reality; the FDA will tell you what’s wrong, not what’s right. Through warning letters, [...]
The rules are different here in the United States. Hyde Park Holistic Center in Cincinnati recently received a warning letter from the Food & Drug Administration that read like many others having to do with nutritional supplements and the H1N1 virus. In China, though, the same admonishment could not be heard. First, the FDA’s message [...]
