"Pharmacy Strength" claims risk misleading consumers
The maker of Red Seal nutritional supplements has been pulled up by the Commerce Commission for marketing its products as “Pharmacy Strength”.
The maker of Red Seal nutritional supplements has been pulled up by the Commerce Commission for marketing its products as “Pharmacy Strength”.
Endeavour Consumer Health has been warned by the commission its claims are likely to be misleading and breach the Fair Trading Act.
None of the products in Endeavour’s “Pharmacy Strength” range contains sufficient quantities of any regulated substance to warrant a pharmacy-only designation, the commission said.
“We are concerned that use of the ‘Pharmacy Strength’ term is not merely confusing, but that it may indicate that the range is endorsed or approved for sale in pharmacies, when it is not,” commissioner Anna Rawlings said.
“The commission believes that the term ‘Pharmacy Strength’ is likely to mislead reasonable consumers about the potency or effectiveness of these products, or to draw unsound comparisons between them and competing products.”
Endeavour has agreed to change the way it markets its Pharmacy Strength range.
Our investigations of the supplement industry have found manufacturers pushing the boundaries of the law and promoting products with claims that aren’t backed by good evidence. Effective regulation of this industry is long overdue.
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