Ad nausea - false advertisements of foods and dietary supplements that have been caught by the Federal Trade Commission - Brief Article

Nutrition Action Healthletter, Sept, 1997

Deceptive ads for foods or supplements are a dime a dozen. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which regulates ads, has a tough time keeping up.

Here are a few of its recent actions. Several started with complaints by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI):

* Pizzeria Uno. In January, the Boston-based restaurant chain agreed to stop advertising its line of "Thinzettas" as "low-fat thin crust pizzas." Six of the eight "Thinzettas" were not low in fat. Some had 36 grams of fat per serving.

* Ensure. In January, the FTC ordered Abbott Labs to stop making unsubstantiated claims like "#1 Doctor Recommended" in ads for its liquid meal replacement. However, in March, CSPI complained that ads still imply that Ensure has everything in food that promotes health. The "Doctor Recommended" ads remain on TV.

* Gerber. In March, Gerber agreed to stop claiming that four out of five pediatricians recommend its baby food. In fact, only 12 percent of pediatricians recommend Gerber. (Gerber left out doctors who didn't recommend baby food at all and those who don't recommend specific brands.)

* Chromium Picolinate. Nutrition 21 (the sole supplier of chromium picolinate), Body Gold (maker of Super Fat Burner Formula and other chromium supplements), and Universal Merchants (distributor of Chromatrim chewing gum) agreed to stop claiming that chromium causes long-term weight-loss, burns fat and builds muscle, raises metabolic rate, controls appetite, lowers blood cholesterol or blood sugar levels, or treats or prevents diabetes. Unfortunately, other companies can still make the same claims.