WASHINGTON—The Natural Products Foundation (NPF) has presented FTC documentation on 22 dietary supplement companies not in compliance with advertising regulations, including advertisers who failed to amend marketing materials after being contacted by the NPF Truth in Advertising (TIA) program. Through its legal advisory council chairman, Marc Ullman, NPF has asked FTC to take action on the companies featured in the submitted documentation.
“We are, as always, grateful for the interest that the FTC and the FDA have taken in our self-regulatory initiative," said Ullman, who met with FTC's Richard Cleland to deliver the documentation. “Any time that a senior representative of the FTC is willing to take time out of their incredibly busy schedule to review the work that we are doing within the TIA program we are getting the kind of feedback that underscores how important self-regulation is in today’s regulatory climate. Every dietary supplement marketer should understand that compliance needs to be part of their corporate culture and that this is a critical aspect of maintaining our industry’s credibility in the eyes of all consumers.”
The TIA program aims to work with publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers to ensure dietary supplement advertising is truthful and not misleading. The review process is initiated by Foundation staff members under the supervision of the NPF Legal Advisory Council—current members of the council include Ullman (Ullman, Shapiro & Ullman), Jackie Kuler (Gronek & Associates) and Nicholas Licato (Nexgen Pharma). The program is overseen by Ullman and NPF Executive Director Deb Knowles. Reviews specifically investigate advertisements that claim to treat or mitigate disease.
The companies responsible for these ads are contacted and informed as to how their marketing materials are illegal. Most companies promptly bring their promotional materials into compliance. When they refuse or fail to amend their practices, NPF passes the information to the FDA and the FTC.
In 2011, NPF mailed 85 warning letters to companies marketing dietary supplements with drug and disease claims. The majority of advertisers contacted have brought their promotions into compliance, however during the past year, NPF has referred a total of 35 cases to representatives from the FTC and FDA for further action.
“The goal is a level playing field for the responsible core of the industry,” Knowles said. “We are working to make sure that fringe companies do not mislead consumers. Unreliable and false advertisements about supplements are detrimental to everyone in the industry.”
These latest referrals followed a recent meeting between the NPF Board of Directors and Daniel Fabricant, PhD, director of the FDA Division of Dietary Supplement Programs, which focused on the continuing role NPF may play in industry education.
“The information about FDA’s dietary supplement program priorities and initiatives that Dr. Fabricant was able to share with the Board will be of great assistance in helping us make our programs even more effective,” Ullman said.
