Consumer Protection Advertising Alert: FTC “Pomels” POM Wonderful and Other Companies for Making Allegedly False and Misleading Health Claims
10/4/2010
By Bruce D. Sokler and Rashi Mittal
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) recent enforcement initiatives on health claims may be heading for a showdown. On September 27, 2010, the FTC issued a particularly detailed 25-page administrative complaint charging POM Wonderful LLC, sister corporation Roll International Corp., and principals Stewart Resnick, Lynda Resnick, and Matthew Tupper with false and misleading health claims. The allegedly misleading ads appeared in national publications such as The New York Times and Prevention magazines, on various websites, and elsewhere. The FTC claimed that POM Wonderful’s scientific research failed to support the company’s claims that its products can prevent heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction.
