jagged: The cases you illustrated above I covered in an earlier topic.
I'll repost most of my reply here, for simplicity. Also:
See this post.
Of course companies want to protect their image, so they often try to fight the results that prove they aren't able to match their label claim or have contaminated products. The most recent was this (this is very recent too):
May 18, 2006 — Court denies vitamin trade group's motion to stop defamation suit brought by ConsumerLab.com
COURT DENIES VITAMIN TRADE GROUP'S MOTION TO STOP DEFAMATION SUIT BROUGHT BY CONSUMERLAB.COM
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK — MAY 18, 2006 (UPDATED APRIL 7, 2006) — ConsumerLab.com announced that the Supreme Court of the State of New York has denied a motion by a trade group of vitamin and supplement makers to dismiss the defamation suit brought against it by ConsumerLab.com. The trade group, which calls itself the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), had argued that the alleged defamatory remarks were shielded from suit and privileged because they related to a letter sent by it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Justice Kenneth W. Rudolph ruled on Tuesday that no such privilege applied.
ConsumerLab.com has been at the forefront of exposing problems with vitamins and supplements in the U.S. since its founding in 1999 by Tod Cooperman, M.D. and former FDA scientist William Obermeyer, Ph.D. In what ConsumerLab.com considers a malicious smear campaign designed to undermine its credibility, CRN distributed a press release in January 2005 publicizing a letter that it simultaneously sent to the FTC alleging that ConsumerLab.com violated the FTC Act. CRN entitled its letter "Enforcement Action against ConsumerLab.com," creating the false impression that the FTC was involved in an action, which was never the case. The news release and letter were rife with false and misleading information about ConsumerLab.com. The FTC refused to take action with respect to CRN complaint, issuing a "no action" letter.
"We were pleased when the FTC exposed this trade group's accusations as no more than a baseless smear campaign and we are again pleased that the State Supreme Court has allowed our case against this group and its former president to proceed to trial," said Dr. Cooperman. "Consumers deserve to know the truth about what is in, or not in, the supplements they take. Our voice will not be silenced."
Tod Cooperman, M.D., President of ConsumerLab.com, advised that while melatonin is generally safe, it is a hormone and its use should be discussed with a healthcare practitioner. It can cause drowsiness for several hours after use and can interfere with some drugs, such as blood pressure medication.
ConsumerLab.com has tested more than sixteen hundred vitamins and supplements. It has found problems with over one quarter of the products it has selected for testing. ConsumerLab.com's reports are available through its popular subscription-based website www.consumerlab.com, which receives over two million visits per year, and in its acclaimed book ConsumerLab.com's Guide to Buying Vitamins and Supplements: What's Really in the Bottle?
ConsumerLab.com has no ownership from, or interest in, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products. Subscription to ConsumerLab.com is available online.
Consumerlab.com merely "reports" on the results of independent testing results; and many companies have had to deal with the hard core truths that their products can't meet their label claim due to the fact that they cannot... The dietary supplement market is renown for having crappy quality as a whole; so that's not exactly news .
To see all of their results:
http://www.consumerl.../news/index.aspConsumer Labs has been around since 1999 and has been protecting folks since then. I am sure they will stick around.
FTC DISMISSES COMPLAINT BY VITAMIN TRADE GROUP AGAINST CONSUMERLAB.COM
WHITE PLAINS, NY — March 15, 2005 — ConsumerLab.com has announced that the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a letter today to a trade group of vitamin and supplement makers, which calls itself the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), stating that the FTC refused to take action with respect to a complaint by the group against ConsumerLab.com.
ConsumerLab.com is a leading independent evaluator of health and nutrition products and has been at the forefront of exposing problems with vitamins and supplements in the U.S. since 1999 when it was founded by Tod Cooperman, M.D. along with former FDA scientist William Obermeyer, Ph.D. ConsumerLab.com's mission is to help consumers identify better quality products.
In what ConsumerLab.com considers a malicious campaign designed to undermine its credibility, the trade group CRN distributed a press release in January publicizing a letter that it simultaneously sent to the FTC alleging that ConsumerLab.com violated FTC code. CRN entitled its letter "Enforcement Action against ConsumerLab.com," creating the false impression that the FTC was involved in an action, which was never the case. The news release and letter were rife with false and misleading information about ConsumerLab.com.
"We are glad that the FTC has exposed this trade group's actions as no more than a baseless smear campaign intended to discredit our findings and silence an independent voice," commented Dr. Cooperman, ConsumerLab.com's president. "Rather than shoot the messenger, it is time that this group heed the message that consumers deserve to know what is in, or not in, the supplements that they take." ConsumerLab.com will be commencing legal action against CRN and its executives for its defamatory attack.
ConsumerLab.com in the News
ConsumerLab.com appreciates the coverage it has received from many news organizations including those listed below.
Newspapers:
Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Gannett News Service, Investor's Business Daily, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Newsday, New York Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Reno Gazette-Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, The Arizona Republic, The Atlanta Constitution, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, The Christian Science Monitor, The Detroit Free Press, The Hartford Courant, The Journal News, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Oregonian, The Orlando Sentinel, The Seattle Times Magazine, The Tampa Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, and Wilmington Morning Star.
Magazines:
Arthritis Today, Better Homes and Gardens, Business Week, Cooking Light, Fitness Magazine, Glamour Magazine, Health Magazine, HerbalGram, Herbs for Health, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Ladies' Home Journal, Men's Health, Modern Maturity, Money Magazine, Mother Earth News, New Choices Magazine, Newsweek International, O the Oprah Magazine, Parade, Prevention Magazine, Pure Power, Magazine Protégez-Vous, Reader's Digest, Remedy Magazine, Runners World, Self, Shape, Time, USA Weekend, U.S. News and World Report, and Vegetarian Times
Newsletters:
AARP Bulletin, Bottom Line Health, Bottom Line Personal, Cosmetics Cop Newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing Newsletter, Environmental Nutrition, Nutrition Action Newsletter, The Johns Hopkins Medical Letter — Health After 50, The Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, and the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter
Radio:
"Eye on the Internet" KRLD 1080/Dallas-Fort Worth, Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson, The People's Pharmacy (Public Radio), and WOR HealthTalk with Dr. Hoffman
Television:
ABC News 20/20, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, CNN Headline News, and NBC Today Show and Weekend Today Show.
Trade & Professional Publications:
American Journal of Nursing, Complementary Practice of Alternative Medicine, Drug Store News, Food Labeling and Nutrition News, Functional Foods, Health Supplement Retailer, Journal of Practical Psychiatry, NACDS Chain Pharmacist Practice Memo, Natural Business, Natural Pharmacy, Nutraceuticals World, Nutritional Outlook, Primary Psychiatry, Psychiatric Annals, The Tan Sheet, Today's Dietician, Today's Health & Wellness, U.S. Pharmacist, Vitamin Retailer Magazine, and Whole Foods.
Books:
"Nutrition Concerns in Women" by Sarah Johnston Miller, Pharm.D., BCNSP appearing in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program version IV, 2002.
The Wellness Revolution, Paul Zane Pilzer, John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
Nutritional Aspects and Clinical Management of Chronic Disorders and Diseases, Edited by Felix Bronner, CRC Press, 2002.
And the list keeps growing!
Edited by nootropikamil, 19 September 2006 - 06:44 PM.