ERSP Refers Advertising for Dinamo to FTC, FDA; Marketer Fails to Respond to ERSP Inquiry

The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) has announced it will refer direct response advertising for Dinamo to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the marketer, Natures Flava, LLC, failed to respond to an ERSP inquiry.

ERSP is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation and is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The marketer’s advertising came to ERSP’s attention pursuant to its ongoing monitoring program.

Claims at issue in the initial inquiry included:

• “Diabetes no more!”
• “It's targeted to lower blood sugar levels and fight against diabetes!" and "Dinamo helps lower blood sugar levels."
• “When I woke up in the morning prior to the Dinamo, my insulin levels were usually in the high 200s - 250, 260, 270. And since I started using the Dinamo, that number has gone to about the 160s, 170s, 180s." [Larry]
• "Created for DIABETICS to help maintain blood sugar levels with only NATURAL and ORGANIC ingredients.”

Pursuant to the ERSP Policies and Procedures, after failing to provide a substantive response to ERSP’s original inquiry within fifteen calendar days, the marketer was afforded a second ten-day period in which to submit a substantive response. The marketer again did not submit a written response to the inquiry and pursuant to section 2.6 (B) of the ERSP Policies and Procedures, this matter has been referred to the FTC and FDA.