A court ruling made by a federal administrative judge stated that Pom Wonderful, the company behind the pomegranate drinks, had to cease the usage of deceptive advertisements that promised the beverage would be "effective in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease."
Judge D. Michael Chappell of the Federal Trade Commission stated, according to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, that Pom used "insufficient" evidence to back up the claims that their products "treat, prevent or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer or erectile dysfunction." The FTC therefore ordered Pom to stop advertising that represented products that were "effective in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease."
Not all of Pom's ads were deceptive in their proclamations to help fight diseases, said the judge's ruling, except those that specifically noted that the pomegranate drinks worked as an "antioxidant superpower," noted the LA Times, and that they guarded against the causes of "heart disease, premature aging, Alzheimer's disease, [and] even cancer."
Pom however saw an upside the ruling, in that the company would not need pre-approval from the Food and Drug Administration for future advertisings, citing the ideal as "unnecessary overreaching."
"Through its lawsuit against POM, the FTC tried to create a new, stricter industry standard, similar to that required for pharmaceuticals, for marketing the health benefits inherent in safe food and natural food-based products. They failed," Craig Cooper, Chief Legal Officer for POM Wonderful LLC, stated in a press release issued by Pom Wonderful on Wednesday.
"While we are still analyzing the ruling, it is clear that we will be able to continue to promote the health benefits of our safe, food products without having our advertisements, marketing or public relations efforts preapproved by the FDA and without having to rely on double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies, the standard required for pharmaceuticals. We consider this not only to be a huge win for us, but for the natural food products industry."
In the FTC's 335-page ruling on Pom's advertising future, it was specifically stated that Pom had the right to advertise their product as long as it did not promise to be a substitute for medical care or treatment.
"The greater weight of the persuasive expert testimony in this case leads to the conclusion that where the product is absolutely safe, like POM Products, and where the claim or advertisement does not suggest that the product be used as a substitute for conventional medical care or treatment, then it is appropriate to favor disclosure," said the FTC ruling, as released by Pom.
However, Pom were not pleased with all the results of the ruling.
"We do plan to appeal certain aspects of the ruling," Pom spokesman Corey Martin told the LA Times.
