FTC Goes After Rexall-Sundown & NatureSmart Over DHA Deception
This is yet another case where front-of-package labeling was used to deceive consumers.
The FTC charged NBTY, Inc. and two subsidiaries, NatureSmart LLC and Rexall Sundown, Inc., with making deceptive claims about the amount of DHA – an Omega-3 fatty acid – used in their line of Disney- and Marvel Heroes-licensed children’s multivitamin gummies and tablets. The companies also made unsupported claims that a daily serving of the products promotes healthy brain and eye development in children, according to the FTC administrative complaint.
Sold by major retailers such as CVS Pharmacy, Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens, Kroger, Kmart, Meijer, and Rite Aid, as well as online, the multivitamins featured characters such as the Disney Princesses, Winnie the Pooh, Finding Nemo, and Spider-Man. Product packaging and print ads promoting the vitamins had bold graphics highlighting that the products contained DHA, but in reality, the products allegedly had only a trace amount of DHA. While the vitamins’ packaging touted the purported health benefits of 100 milligrams of DHA, a daily serving of the Disney and Marvel multivitamins for children ages four years and older contained only one thousandth of that amount (0.1 mg or 100 mcg), according to the FTC’s complaint.
The FTC alleged that the packaging and ads for the Disney and Marvel multivitamins misrepresented that they contained a significant amount of DHA, and that NBTY, NatureSmart, and Rexall Sundown made unsubstantiated claims that the amount of DHA provided by the multivitamins promotes healthy brain and eye development in children.
Wow… talk about “label decoration.” It’s tough to believe that a major manufacturer would pull something this bogus, but there it is.
Just goes to show you: it always pays to read the fine print, even on the labels of mainstream drugstore products like these.
December 13, 2010
FTC Goes After Rexall-Sundown & NatureSmart Over DHA Deception – http://blog.ultimatefatburner.com/2010/1…
December 14, 2010
It seems like it’s getting harder to trust any company today. It’s getting where it dosent even surprize me to hear things like this.
The bad thing is, it’s getting to where you don’t know if you can trust what’s put on a “label” anymore. Thats a disturbing thought.
December 14, 2010
Unfortunately, this is where the so-called “invisible hand” of the free market breaks down. In the absence of sensible regulation to enforce certain standards, there’s little to be gained by honesty. Cheating and cutting corners is ultimately more profitable. Once the race to the bottom gets started, it’s hard as hell to stop, too.
December 15, 2010
Thats the key word,”profitable”. It seems that the greed that is in todays world overshadows the honesty and integraty of a lot of businesses. Usually causeing the consumer to “pay the price” with low quality or misrepresented products.