NAD cites superfood marketer for video implying coronavirus claim

04-Jun-2020 - Last updated on 04-Jun-2020 at 15:29 GMT

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Related tags coronavirus Superfoods COVID-19

The National Adverting Division has joined in the battle against coronavirus disease claims by advising a company marketing a superfoods blend to take down a video that NAD says crosses the line.

The video was the work of a company called Your Superfoods, Inc. The company, which is certified as a B Corp, markets a variety of green superfood type powdered dietary supplements. In a recent video, the founders of the company, who give their names as Kristel and Michael, used this script to tout a selection of products they called Your Superfoods Immunity Bundle:

“[W]ith all that’s going on, with the coronavirus…there is a piece that we can control and that is our own health and building our immune system because its depends on what we eat….It’s super important to have a lot of micronutrients now, so Superfoods can help. We have this amazing immunity bundle – Super Greens to up your green, Mellow Yellow which really reduces your stress because [stress] actually reduces your immunity, and then we also have immunity boosting mushrooms in our Magic Mushroom mix.”

According to NAD, the company responded by saying it had “discontinued the video in question” and that it would “take immediate steps to ensure that its advertising does not make any express or implied claims as to the efficacy of its products in preventing COVID-19.” However, a search on YouTube this morning revealed the video was still accessible at press time.

In a statement, NAD, which is a division of BBB National Programs, said it found the video through a routine monitoring program. NAD challenged the advertisement by Your Superfoods noting that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued numerous warning letters to dietary supplement manufacturers in response to advertisements touting their products’ abilities to cure or increase consumers’ immunity to protect them from COVID-19. NAD said it shares FTC’s and FDA’s concerns and is using its monitoring resources to find claims for products touting misleading health-conferring benefits related to COVID-19 as part of its public interest mission to protect consumers particularly during this unprecedented time.

Your Superfoods, which lists telephone numbers in Germany and an office in Venice, CA, did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.