One advertiser of nutritional supplements will be changing the names of its elderberry products following a National Advertising Division (NAD) decision addressing a novel issue: How much of an ingredient does a product have to contain to "warrant claiming the ingredient is in the product or whether it can be used in the product name."
Dakota Nutrition Inc.'s claims about its Extra Strength Elderberry 3-in-1 Immune Booster Capsules, Extra Strength Elderberry Gummies, and Immune Defense 7-in-1 Immune Booster Capsules were challenged by competitor Nature's Way Brand, which argued that, among other deficiencies, Dakota Nutrition's supplements do not contain sufficient amounts of elderberry to support its marketing claims. (Dakota voluntarily discontinued the challenged disease treatment and prevention claims, leaving the elderberry "ingredient" claims as the only issue before NAD).
The NAD noted there is no NAD precedent addressing the percentage of an ingredient required to justify a product's name and marketing claims but stated that a recent case involving Goli Nutrition is instructive. In that case, the NAD determined that because Goli's apple cider gummies contained 5% apple cider vinegar...
A federal grand jury in St. George returned an indictment today charging a Utah podiatrist and two nurses who worked for him with fraud for their roles in a $29 million Medicare false claims case....