The FDA and FTC have warned 10 companies for illegally selling dietary supplements that claim to “cure, treat, mitigate or prevent diabetes.” Making such inaccurate claims, the agencies said, is a direct violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
“More than 34 million Americans— just over 1 in 10 people— are living with diabetes,” Cara Welch, PhD, acting director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs in the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said in a statement. “Dietary supplements that make fraudulent claims to treat diabetes are unapproved new drugs that could potentially harm consumers who use these products instead of seeking safe and effective FDA-approved treatments. The FDA is committed to protecting U.S. consumers from products and companies that make unlawful claims to treat or prevent diabetes, and we’ll continue to hold companies accountable by alerting the public about products that place consumers at risk.”
The companies that received warning letters were:
- Live Good Inc.
- Pharmaganics LLC
- Lysulin Inc.
- Nuturna International LLC
- Phytage Labs
- Ar-Rahmah Pharm LLC
- Metamune Inc.
- Holistic Healer & Wellness Center Inc.
- Radhanite LLC
- Aceva LLC
An example of one of these warning letters can be viewed here. Each company was asked to respond to the warning within 15 working days. Companies are expected to either detail a plan for addressing this issue or “provide their reasoning and supporting information as to why they think the products are not in violation of the law.”
Consumers are urged to not use the medications included in these warnings. The FDA and FTC also encouraged healthcare providers and consumers to report any adverse reactions to these medications.
The full announcement is available here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.