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FTC Action Summaries

Rose Creek

69. Rose Creek Health Products, Inc., (E.D. Wa. filed March 11, 1999)

Defendants: Rose Creek Health Products, Inc., The Staff of Life, Inc., Donald L. Smyth

Type: False Claims for Vitamin O

Defendants sold 2 ounce bottles of Vitamin O for $20 to $25, claiming that it enriched the bloodstream with supplemental oxygen. The defendants' ads -- which appeared in USA Today and in other newspapers, and on the Internet -- also claimed that Vitamin O could cure or prevent serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and lung disease.

The FTC filed suit in federal court, alleging that the defendants made false and unsubstantiated claims for a product that appears to be nothing more than saltwater. The Commission obtained a stipulated preliminary injunction from defendants and is seeking a permanent injunction.

On April 28, 2000, the Commission filed a proposed consent settle this matter. Upon approval by the court, the settlement requires defendants to pay $375,000 in consumer redress and defendants from making false or unsubstantiated claims about Vitamin "O" and any other food drug or dietary supplement, and from making any false or unsubstantiated claims about medical research studies or the endorsement of any academic, scientific, or government organization. The order also bars defendants from passing on deceptive promotional material for their distributors to use and bars defendants from falsely representing that any user’s testimonial reflects a typical experience.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/9903/rosecreek.htm (press release - complaint)

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/05/rosecreek2.htm (press release - proposed consent)

This page was last modified on July 22, 2007.

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