supplements

FTC lessons: You can do bad (advertising) all by yourself

The Federal Trade Commission provides advertising lessons in its proposed settlement with CVS to refund nearly $2.8 million to buyers of the retailer’s Air Shield dietary supplement. The drug store chain made cold-prevention claims for the product that were similar to those for competing products, Airborne and Germ Defense. Those product claims also ran afoul of the FTC and cost their companies.

Tainted supplements: same story, different publication

We are not sure of the reason, but it seems that every three months or so, a national media outlet weighs in on an old story: tainted nutritional supplements. The latest is a rehash of anecdotes with the same question: Are vitamins safe? So goes the Sept. 7 article in the Wall Street Journal headlined, “What’s Really in Supplements?”

Three Significant Supplement 1st Amendment Suits filed versus FDA – Part II

This is Part II of the Post that began here in which we discuss the three important suits filed this summer by supplement lawyer Jonathan Emord challenging FDA administrative action on first amendment grounds. The cGMP Challenge – FDA Overreaching? The FDA supplement cGMP regulations were anticipated from the time that DSHEA was passed in [...]

Orlistat and Hydroxycut: Similar health problems, but comparable FDA treatment?

This is a tale of two types of weight-loss products and how the Food and Drug Administration had different responses to similar problems with them. The separate, but not equivalent treatment raises questions about how the FDA operates.

Nutraceutical companies give boost to Wall Street IPO and M&A business

Financiers have discovered what the industry knew all along: Economic hard times have not been bad for makers and sellers of supplements and related wellness products. People are willing to forgo luxuries, even new cars and homes, but not their health.

Federal audit of standards could lead to crackdown on organic certifications

Following reports in the Washington Post that standards for classifying foods as organic had been relaxed, the U.S. Agriculture Department is launching an audit of its National Organic Program. The Post says that department thinks external scrutiny is needed to improve the integrity and reliability of the program.