Benefiber Ad Claims OK Per NAD

NEW YORK—Novartis Consumer Health Inc. has adequate substantiation for the advertising claims for its Benefiber dietary supplement, according to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB). NAD opened the inquiry following a challenge by Procter & Gamble (P&G), makers of the Metamucil product line.

While the two fiber products contain different types of dietary fiber, delivering different health benefits, the claims at issue related to the quantity of each product a consumer would take to get equal amounts of fiber. P&G questioned whether the claims triggered an obligation to disclose the differences in health effects. Ultimately, NAD found the verbiage did not convey an implied message related to the health effects, and therefore no disclosure of those benefits was necessary.