Saw Palmetto Claim Appealed, FTC Reach Questioned

Saw Palmetto Claim Appealed, FTC Reach Questioned

WASHINGTON--Emord & Associates P.C. announced May 16 that clients have challenged a lower court's decision upholding the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) suppression of the following saw palmetto health claim: "Consumption of 320 mg daily of saw palmetto extract may improve urine flow, reduce nocturia and reduce voiding urgency associated with mild benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will decide whether FDA did, in fact, violate the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act's health claim provision.

The plaintiffs named in the suit include Julian M. Whitaker, M.D.; Pure Encapsulations Inc.; and the American Association for Health Freedom.

The same firm also announced it filed a petition for rulemaking April 16 with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for failing to comply with the First Amendment during its nonpublic investigations of health benefit advertising. Emord & Associates filed on behalf of the First Amendment Health Freedom Association (AHFA).

The petition calls for FTC to disclose precisely which health benefit ad content it finds inherently misleading and to reveal the scientific grounds for its decision to investigate ad content. The petition also calls for FTC to use warning letters in instances the ad content is potentially misleading and could be corrected with a disclaimer.

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