CFSAN Announces its new Office
of Food Safety, Defense, and Outreach- On
January 14, 2005 the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (“CFSAN”)
consolidated its food safety and defense responsibilities with its
counter terrorism and chief medical officer responsibilities by creating
the new Office of Food Safety, Defense and Outreach (“OFSDO”).
The OFSDO will take the lead in coordinating, developing
and delivering outreach and educational products to consumers, industry
and other regulatory authorities. CFSAN education and outreach
functions, such as industry outreach and labeling and nutrition outreach,
have been merged into OFSDO.
OFSDO was created to improve the quality, quantity
and expediency of CFSAN outreach and education. The OFSDO is also intended to
provide a “more visible interface” and ensure CFSAN-wide “consistency
in procedures and consumer messages.”
Contact Allan or Steve to
find out how the OFSDO may affect your business.
FTC
Targets CortiSlim and CortiStress for False and Unsubstantiated
Claims- On
October 5, 2004, the FTC charged the marketers of CortiSlim and
CortiStress, Window Rock Enterprises, Inc. and Infinity Advertising,
Inc., with falsely claiming that their products cause weight loss
and reduce the risk of, or prevent serious health conditions. The FTC’s complaint alleges
that the defendants violated the FTC Act by making deceptive claims
for CortiSlim and CortiStress. The complaint also seeks permanent
injunctive relief and redress for consumers who purchased the products.
The FTC
claims that the defendants began marketing CortiSlim and CortiStress
in August and September 2003 through nationally circulating infomercials.
In those infomercials, the FTC claims that the defendants made numerous
unsubstantiated claims in their marketing along with using deceptive
formats in their infomercials.
The FTC
has also begun sending warning letters to others who are marketing
products that claim to cause weight loss or the production of health
benefits that rely on the same unsubstantiated claims made by the
defendants.
The FDA
has also sent a warning letter to the defendants stating that (1)
CortiSlim is misbranded and (2) its label makes unsubstantiated claims. The
FDA also expressed that enforcement action would be initiated if
the defendants did not begin to correct the violations.
COMMENT:
Zackler & Associates
can assist your marketing and advertising efforts for your food
and dietary supplement products to help ensure that the FTC and
FDA will not be sending you warning letters.
Atkins
Drops “Net Carbs” From Their Food Labels
- Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., the company that helped
popularize low carb diets, has dropped the term “net carbs” from
its food labels. Instead of using “net carbs,” Atkins
says it will use the new phrase, “net Atkins count.”
This change
comes before the FDA is expected to tighten current rules for defining
carbohydrates. Despite the proliferation of the “low-carb" foods,
the FDA hasn’t endorsed nor prevented companies from using the
term “net carbs” on food labels.