Rite Aid Settles FTC Charges in Germ Defense Case

SCRANTON, Pa. Rite Aid Corp. reached a settlement with FTC on charges the company used deceptive advertising for its Germ Defense private label tablets and lozenges. Under terms of the order, entered in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Rite Aid will pay $500,000 for consumer redress, must post a refund notice in the cold and flu aisles of all of its stores, and may not claim any dietary supplement can reduce the risk of colds and flu without substantiation. Improvita Health Products, which produced the Germ Defense product for Rite Aid, is still facing a separate FTC case with similar charges of false and deceptive advertising using unsubstantiated claims; that case is pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.