FTC says POM juice ads are deceptive about health

[HuckleB]

Source: AP via Google

Federal regulators filed complaints Monday against the makers of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, saying there's no science to support claims that the products treat or prevent diseases such as prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.

The Federal Trade Commission says POM Wonderful LLC, its parent company Roll International Corp., its creators and an executive violated federal law by making deceptive claims about disease prevention and treatment.

The agency's complaint names POM Wonderful President Matthew Tupper and company founders Stewart and Lynda Resnick, a billionaire California couple whose holdings also include florist retailer Teleflora, Fiji Water and companies that produce Wonderful Pistachios and Cuties clementines.

POM Wonderful is seen as starting the pomegranate craze that has spread to everything from tea to smoothies, hitting ice cream, martinis and salad dressings on the way. The company's health claims are a hallmark of its advertising.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXlQzYB1STnunUUIKmcOjgRfXRhwD9IGBJDO3

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When will we finally demand regulation to keep such dishonest marketing techniques from proliferating in the first place?

:shrug:

[hlthe2b]

1. Also own FIJI water....

Could there be a more irresponsible concept than to import water from Fiji? (Yes, I got sucked in--ONCE) :eyes:

[HuckleB]

3. It is a bizarre waste of resources to import water from overseas at all, IMO.

:hi:

[SpeechlessDem]

2. Watch everyone come in here!

Everyone will say "Govt. needs to do something about this".

But no one will say how Govt. is hiding the fact that GMO foods can cause organ failure, nobody will talk about how Obama appointed a Monsanto Exec as Food Safety Czar or another Monsanto Exec as FDA Food Commisioner or how the FDA is trying to dissallow food producers from labelling food as Non-GMO.

Hypocrisy!

"Just because it's a democrat doing it doesn't make it okay" - Dennis Kucinich!

Wake Up People!

[HuckleB]

4. "Fact?"

First, even if your claim was true, you're offering a red herring, apparently in defense of the wealthy owners of POM and their lies. Second, do you really believe the claim you're making? If so, on what basis?

[SpeechlessDem]

5. You didn't know?

I'm surprised you didn't know, there's threads about in DU itself.

Obama Gives Key Agriculture Post to Monsanto Man
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18499

Michael Taylor: Monsanto's Man in the Obama Administration
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18866.cfm

The person who may be responsible for more food-related illness and death than anyone in history has just been made the US food safety czar. This is no joke.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/youre-appointing-who-plea_b_243810.html

FDA Barring Food Makers from Advertising Products as GMO-Free
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/20/headlines/fda_barring_food_makers_from_advertising_products_as_gmo_free

[HuckleB]

7. Lots of links, but no proof of your claim "that GMO foods can cause organ failure."

Further, you failed to acknowledge the actual fact that this thread is about POM. Are you defending their actions?

[SpeechlessDem]

13. For those asking

The posters asking me questions please refer to the huffington post link
All your questions will be answered there if you read the entire article.

No I am not defending the actions of POM, I am merely hightling the fact that the one's attacking POM, the FTC.. well the FTC and FDA are both owned by lobbyists.
Anyone remember how much Monsanto lobbyed last couple of quarters, the link was here on DU.

So again, no I am not defending POM, I am just putting things into perspective that's all.

I am just really angry that food producers not being able to label their food as non-GMO.
That angers me beyond belief and I belive it should also anger all of you more than this.

That's all i'm saying, I'm not at all defending POM.
I've never bought any of their products.

[HuckleB]

14. No, that pseudo-science piece offers nothing.

Try again.

[HuckleB]

15. And, sorry, but your knee-jerk response offers no perspective at all.

Considering that the pseudo-science and conspiracy theory based sources you used to continue your red herring are also the loudest voices against regulation of such claims, well, the hypocrisy is actually the other way around.

Some pieces that actually offer perspective on your diversion topic:

'Can We Feed the World Without Damaging It?'
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/01/04/04greenwire-can-we-feed-the-world-without-damaging-it-99381.html?scp=1&sq=adamchak&st=Search

Facing Biotech Foods Without the Fear Factor
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/health/11brod.html?_r=1

GM crops: The EC allows politics to trump science
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2010/aug/17/genetically-modified-crops-ec-eu

Fear of GM milk is more science fiction than fact
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/02/fear-gm-milk-science-fiction

GM food deserves better than this witch-hunt
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/06/colin-blakemore-gm-foods

Time Machine: GMOs, HIV, and fear mongering in 1994
http://scienceblogs.com/erv/2008/10/time_machine_gmos_hiv_and_fear.php

Organic farmers must embrace GM crops if we are to feed the world, says scientist
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6985295.ece#cid

Now, offering this small selection of pieces that discuss the issue without the BS hyperbole of the pseudo-science nonsense found at HuffPo, and, unfortunately, too many other progressive sources, does not mean that I have no concerns about GMO products, and I have big concerns about the companies that produce them. However, I am not going to ignore that these issues are being investigated, and I am not going to ignore the scams pushed upon consumers such as the POM scam, simply because GMOs are or are not a concern.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. Make sure you back that smear up with some facts, buddy.

"Fast Fact:
1.Full name: David William Kennedy Acheson
2.Alma Mater: University of London Medical School
3.Has worked at both USDA and FDA
4.Appointed following melamine contamination of pet food from China

Early Life
Acheson received his training in internal medicine and infectious diseases from the University of London Medical School, and in 1987, joined Tufts-New England Medical Center. At Tufts, Acheson began his research on food-borne pathogens, and on E.coli bacteria in particular. In 2001, Acheson became a professor at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, where he continued his research.

Governmental Employ
In 2000, Acheson entered government service as the senior food safety specialist for the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service. In 2002, Acheson transferred to the FDA, where he was appointed the Chief Medical Officer of the department's Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). In 2007, Acheson became the nation's "food safety czar," in charge of anticipating and acting upon food safety crises and scares."


Monsanto Exec? Where? When?

[Evasporque]

8. we had regs...GOP dismantled them in Bush years...nt

[HuckleB]

10. What regulations would have kept POM from going to market with these claims?

:shrug:

[zenj8]

9. Yet the FDA is quite willing to let deceptive practices

by pharmaceutical companies go without consequences. Where is the regulation and oversight of the drug companies?

[HuckleB]

11. What does your red herring have to do with POM, and with this FTC complaint against POM?

:shrug:

[Ian David]

12. I know POM Juice cured me of Spot Bleeding.

Everyone else said it was because I started taking out the pins that came in my new shirts.