By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com
Most news stories about lawsuits and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) involve the FTC suing a company or individual. But this time, it's the other way around.
POM Wonderful, makers of pomegranate juice, is suing the FTC, alleging that the agency's new standard for evaluating deceptive advertising is trampling the company's free speech rights. The new standard requires advertisers to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before making health-related claims about food, beverages and dietary supplements, POM's lawyers said.
That, the suit argues, amounts to the FTC's encroaching on the FDA's turf.
Lawyers for POM say the FTC first revealed its new standard in July when Nestl S.A. agreed to drop allegedly deceptive advertising claims about the health benefits of its children's drink BOOST Kid Essentials.
The suit says the FTC requirement applies "regardless of whether or not the claims are true or supported by competent, reliable scientific evidence" and that the standard prevents POM from "truthfully advertising" the benefits of its products.
POM's lawyers say the new requirement violates the company's Fifth Amendment right to due process. They note that the FTC has never before required prior approval of advertisement statements.
Whatever eventually comes of the legal battles, many consumer advocates take a dim view of POM Wonderful and other makers of high-priced specialty drinks.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) noted a few years ago that some of POM's claims might be a little over the top. While the expensive drink, which goes for $4 or more per 16-ounce bottle, claims to help stave off prostate cancer in men and open up arteries in people with cardiovascular disease, CSPI said few of those claims had been adequately proven.
"Meanwhile, we do know for certain that pomegranate juice contains 160 calories per eight ounces, much more than orange juice or a soft drink," said CSPI senior nutritionist David Schardt, who authored the article. "Adding pomegranate juice to your diet could mean adding calories."
