From the Vitamin Consultancy
While the declared “pandemic” has slowed bureaucracy to a crawl, one appeals court (the United States Ninth Circuit, on the West Coast) recently made a decision that supports commercial freedom of speech regarding dietary supplements. Reuters reports: [1]
A class action lawsuit accusing big box retailer Target Corp and nutritional supplement makers International Vitamin Corp and Perrigo Co of falsely marketing biotin, a nutritional supplement, as promoting healthy hair and skin is preempted by federal law, a federal appeals court has ruled.
A unanimous panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Wednesday that the claims made on the supplement’s label were protected by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) as general claims about the structure and function of biotin, and that the product included appropriate disclaimers, affirming a lower court order dismissing the case.
What this means is that States like California cannot impose stricter “false advertising” rules than the Federal Government imposes. It means there is a national standard for claims.
When general structure and function claims are made — with appropriate disclaimers — Federal law protects the claims.
It’s time for all natural products companies to review your claims and make sure your disclaimers are in order. Just email me: ralph.fucetola@usa.net with “Review” in the subject line.
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[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/products-biotin-idUSL1N2JO3JX