FDA list of fraudulent coronavirus products grows
The FDA called for swift action to stop the sale of unapproved products
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of firms selling fraudulent products claiming COVID-19 cures, treatments or otherwise continues to grow.
The list now amounts to 118 firms, 72% of which are listed in a “corrective status,” meaning the products of concern are no longer sold. The latest sellers dinged by FDA and Federal Trade Commission were Griffo Botanicals and Prairie Dawn Herbs.
Both companies offer herbal products cloaked with claims to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose or cure coronavirus, the FDA wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
The products violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act, the FDA's implementing regulations and an FTC Act.
After multiple reviews of each firms’ website and social media pages, the FDA and FTC pinpointed a list of violations and sent warning letters to these companies, calling for swift action to stop the sale of the unapproved products.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For example, Griffo Botanicals on July 9 posted to its Instagram page the following, according to the FDA:
“Did you know that hospitals in HuBei and WuHan published Chinese herbal guidelines for treatment of Covid_19 in its various stages and presentations? Griffo Botanicals has produced 4 new formulas based on these guidelines. The intention of these formulas is to ease symptoms, while bringing the body back into balance. They promote recovery, improving both mild and moderate symptoms while reducing the inflammatory load on the lungs and other organs that occur during respiratory infection.”
The firms were told to email the FDA and FTC within 48 hours with a detailed list of steps taken to fix the violations or state a reason for a delayed response.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Failure to immediately correct the violations cited in this letter may result in legal action, including, without limitation, seizure and injunction,” per the warning letters.
Click here for the FDA's list of fraudulent products.