Natural Products Foundation’s Truth in Advertising Review Sends 200th Warning Letter to Non-Compliant Companies

The Natural Products Foundation’s (NPF) Truth in Advertising Review-a self-regulatory program to alert dietary supplement companies making illegal drug and disease product claims-has sent out its 200^th warning letter to non-compliant companies.

“The NPF Truth in Advertising Review (TIA) is vital to the integrity of dietary supplements and the overall well-being of consumers,” says David Brown, chairman of NPF’s board of directors. “A small minority of marketers [has] the potential to undermine decades of progress made by natural health initiatives. Our industry outreach and education efforts highlight problematic advertising and labeling issues while working with marketers to ensure that they are fully compliant with current regulations.”

NPF says that since the program’s inception, two-thirds of all warning letter recipients have worked to revise their advertising practices and content. In fact, NPF says, 80% of 2012 warning letter recipients took action to improve their ads. In 2012, the program initiated 100 new review cases and sent 65 warning letters.

If companies fail to address issues in NPF warnings, NPF may then refer cases to federal regulatory agencies.