The Federal Trade Commission has issued a complaint against a Utah company, related corporations and individuals operating as a common enterprise with making false and unsubstantiated claims about the companies' weight loss supplements.
Companies named in the commission's complaint, announced Wednesday, include Basic Research, A.G. Waterhouse, Klein-Becker usa, Nutrasport, Sovage Dermalogic Laboratories and BAN LLC. The complaint also named three individuals: Dennis Gay; Daniel B. Mowrey, also doing business as American Phytotherapy Research Laboratory; and Mitchell K. Friedlander.
The respondents, who appear to operate from the same Salt Lake facility, sell dietary supplements and topical gels through a variety of media, including the Internet. The FTC took issue with claims allegedly made about six of those products: fat loss gels called Dermalin, Cutting Gel and Tummy Flattening Gel, and weight loss supplements called Leptoprin, Anorex and PediaLean.
The FTC alleged in a statement Wednesday that the respondents made "unsubstantiated fat and weight loss claims, false claims that clinical testing proves certain efficacy claims and false claims that Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D., is a medical doctor."
Specifically, the commission alleged that the companies and/or individuals claimed that Dermalin, Cutting Gel and Tummy Flattening Gel caused rapid and visible fat loss in the areas of the body to which the ointments were applied — fat loss that was proved by clinical testing. The FTC also challenged alleged claims that Leptoprin and Anorex caused weight loss of more than 20 pounds in obese users, again proved by published clinical testing. The commission disputed similar claims allegedly made by the companies about PediaLean.
"Dramatic, unsubstantiated weight and fat loss claims continue to tempt the overweight with new hope for a quick fix," said Howard Beales, director of the commission's bureau of consumer protection, in a prepared statement. "It's particularly disturbing, however, when marketers peddle such pills and potions for children without adequate substantiation."
Dennis Gay, president and chief executive officer of Basic Research (maker of PediaLean), said in a statement Wednesday, "As of today, June 16, 2004, we have not seen the complaint — the FTC apparently chose to release the complaint along with three inflammatory press releases before presenting it to our attorneys. Since the FTC has not seen fit to share it with us, we cannot comment on specifics. But from what we do know, we disagree in the strongest terms possible with the FTC's allegations."
Gay maintained that Basic Research's products are safe and effective and that "any allegation contrary to the above facts is itself false and misleading."
"We will defend our products and our company vigorously in the proper time and place," Gay said. "It is easy to indict via the media and paint all with a single, broad brush. But we have millions of satisfied repeat customers who purchase, use and enjoy our products every day. We will continue to serve them proudly."
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com