On April 13, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) sent a Notice of Penalty Offenses to approximately 670 companies detailing conduct that the FTC claims violates the prohibition on unfair or deceptive trade practices set forth in Section 5 of the FTC Act. The noticed offenses include failure to adequately substantiate claims made in marketing and advertising about products, particularly health benefit claims and claims of efficacy. All product claims must be supported by competent and reliable evidence as of the time of the claim. Claims of health or safety benefits, or that the product is effective in the cure, mitigation, or treatment of serious disease, must satisfy much higher evidentiary standards.
