Nutramax Settles FTC Charges 35620

Nutramax Settles FTC Charges

WASHINGTONThe Federal TradeCommission (FTC) announced a proposed consent agreement with dietary supplementmaker Nutramax Laboratories Inc. (www.nutramaxlabs.com). The agreement wouldsettle FTCs charges that Nutramax made unsubstantiated claims that itsproduct Senior Moment could prevent memory loss and restore memory function inadults.

The proposed consent agreement (available online atwww.ftc.gov) prohibits Nutramax from representing that Senior Moment can preventor reverse the effects of memory loss, unless it has competent and reliablescientific evidence for that claim. It also requires Nutramax to have competentand reliable scientific evidence substantiating all claims about the benefits ofany product sold for cognitive function, or for the treatment or prevention ofany related disease or disorder. Finally, the agreement prohibits the companyfrom misrepresenting any study in connection with the marketing or sale of suchproducts.

Nutramax will also be required to maintain a file of alladvertising and marketing materials containing claims for products for cognitivefunction, as well as the data and evidence related to the claim, for five yearsafter the last time such a representation is made. This file must be madeavailable to the FTC upon request.

In a statement to INSIDER,the company emphasized it has cooperated fully with FTC, that the consentagreement includes no fines or penalties, and that the product will remain onthe market under the same name. The company is changing the wording of productclaims, focusing on nutritional support for healthy brain function rather thanclaims for effects on memory.