NAD Asks eFoodSafety to Change Cinnergen Claims

NEW YORK—The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus announced it recommended eFoodSafety.com discontinue or modify certain advertising claims for the company’s “Cinnergen” product.

As part of its routine monitoring program, NAD, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body, requested substantiation for health-related establishment and performance claims addressing blood sugar control, glucose metabolism, insulin function and physician/clinical support.

At the outset of NAD’s review, eFoodSafety.com said it has substantially reformulated Cinnergen, resulting in a significant increase in certain ingredients. As such, the advertiser maintained that a clinical study on the product conducted prior to the reformulation could no longer be relied upon to support some of the claims at issue and agreed to permanently discontinue certain claims:

eFoodSafety.com also agreed to modify claims that may lead consumers to believe Cinnergen is a replacement for a normal insulin regimen, specifically that Cinnergen “Helps Insulin work more effectively” and “Cinnergen is a Natural Part of the Diabetics Diet!!”

The remaining claims, the advertiser asserted, are supported by clinical trials on comparable doses of key ingredients in Cinnergen and scientific literature examining those ingredients which show that they have the claimed benefits individually and collectively when taken at the recommended daily serving size. However, NAD disagreed and recommended modifying or discontinuing those claims.

In its advertiser’s statement, eFoodSafety.com said it was “disappointed ... that NAD did not give greater weight to the clinical studies on ingredients in Cinnergen” but that “eFoodSafety.com appreciates the opportunity to participate in the self-regulatory process [and] will modify its advertising consistent with NAD’s decision.”