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Consumer Health Digest #03-23
Your Weekly Update of News and Reviews
June 10, 2003


Very bad news for coral calcium sellers. Multiple regulatory actions and the
discovery of lead in Bob Barefoot's Coral Calcium Supreme should have a
powerful effect on coral calcium marketing:

*The FTC has issued a complaint charging Robert Barefoot. Kevin Trudeau, Shop
America (USA), and Deonna Enterprises with making unsubstantiated claims that
"go far beyond existing scientific evidence regarding the recognized health
benefits of coral calcium." The FTC has filed suit in Chicago federal court
seeking a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze. In addition, the
agencies are sending warnings to many Web site operators who are making similar
claims.
[FTC and FDA take new actions in fight against deceptive marketing: FTC charges
marketers of Coral Calcium Supreme dietary supplement and a pain-relief product
with making false and unsubstantiated claims. FTC news release, June 10, 2003]
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/06/trudeau.htm

Last week, in the United Kingdom, the Independent Television Commission (ITC)
announced that it had levied a £60,000 fine on the television shopping channel,
Shop America (a subsidiary of Trustar Global Media) for several breaches of the
ITC's Advertising Code. The main offense was an ad for Bob Barefoot's Coral
Calcium Supreme which claimed that it could help reverse cancer and other
serious diseases and could benefit everyone, including babies. The penalty also
covered misleading ads for the Fresh Start diet plan and a golfing product.
[ITC imposes £60,000 financial penalty on Shop America. ITC news release June
2, 2003]
http://www.itc.org.uk/latest_news/press_releases/release.asp?release_id=711


*ConsumerLab http://www.consumerlab.com/index.asp?claffid=101024 has reported
that Bob Barefoot's Coral Calcium Supreme http://www.onlinecoralcalcium.com/
contains 2.5 micrograms of lead per gram of calcium. This might not pose a
physical threat (except, perhaps, to a developing child when taken by a woman
who is pregnant or breastfeeding). However, there is no logical reason take the
product when many other calcium supplements have a lower lead level. California
requires that products exceeding the "no significant risk level" of 1.5
micrograms of lead provide a warning label -- which Barefoot's product does
not.
Coral calcium has been extensively promoted by infomercials produced by Trudeau
in which Barefoot falsely represents that it can cure cancer, even in terminal
cases. The claims have been so outrageous that the Council for Responsible
Nutrition (a trade association) has denounced them as fraudulent and asked the
FDA to take action.
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral3.html Extensive
investigative reports have been published at
http://www.dietpower.com/phweb0603.htm and
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral.html


Shelley Case, B. Sc., RD
Case Nutrition Consulting, www.glutenfreediet.ca
<http://www.glutenfreediet.ca>
Author: Gluten Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide
Co-Author: Celiac Section, Manual of Clinical Dietetics, American
Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada
Medical Advisory Board: Celiac Disease Foundation, Gluten Intolerance
Group, Canadian Celiac Association
Advisory Board: Gluten-Free Living Magazine and Living Without Magazine
EMail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>

*Please provide references to back up claims of a product being GF or not GF*