According to a recent adjudication by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) it seems that a US style disclaimer can help you avoid issues related to implied claims. Following a complaint against the name “Optiflex Glucosamine” that the product efficacy could not be substantiated the ASA ruled that: Upon Copy Advices recommendation, Healthspan had ensured that [...]
In March 2010 Yakult Europe B.V. submitted their dossier to support a health claim on their Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota for the maintenance of the upper respiratory tract defence against pathogens by maintaining immune defences. As one (some may argue the) of the oldest probiotic brands with a supposed wealth of science behind their product [...]
At last EFSA has released 94 opinions on a small batch of 523 health claims relating to over 200 food components. With 66% of the claims rejected (negative opinion) including the likes of glucosamine, the industry is again in turmoil – but it gets worse… According to Directorate-General for Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) the [...]
Dannon Co. have agreed to reimburse consumers up to $100 for products purchased out of a $35mn fund, according to settlement terms of a class action lawsuit filed in January 2008 regarding advertising for its Activia and DanActive products. The suit had claimed that the marketing and advertising materials for Activia, DanActive and Dan Active [...]
LIPObind from Goldshield Ltd has been really pushed as a weight loss aid in 2009. Despite multiple cautions from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over the past 2 years because of unsubstantiated product claims (including another for LIPObind only a month earlier), Goldshield are still marketing the product for weight loss…But at what cost? According [...]
The UK company Provexis and its rich tomato extract Fruitflow® have won a positive health claim decision from EFSA. The applied for claim was quite consumer friendly i.e. “Helps to maintain a healthy blood flow and benefits circulation”. However, the approved claim is very non-consumer friendly, “helps maintain normal platelet aggregation”. With a claim 99% [...]
In March 09 Powerade® (Coca-Cola) launched “the complete sports drink” marketing campaign platforming their new product ‘ION4′as better than other sports drinks due to the inclusion of 2 additional electrolytes (0.5% of RDA – calcium and magnesium ). However, Powerade rival and market leader Gatorade® (PepsiCo) have filed a lawsuit against Powerade citing deceptive copy [...]
GlaxoSmithKlein’s (GSK) weight loss product alli (Orlistat/Xenical 60mg) made a huge impact in 2007 with sales over the first 2 months exceeding $53 million. On Wednesday the 21st of January 2009 GSK received word from the European Commission that their application for non-prescription status has been granted, a first in the EU weight loss market. [...]
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