Tuesday, March 04, 2008 BFAD helpless v. food supplement ads By Carlo P. Mallo
THE Bureau of Foods and Drugs (BFAD) in Southern Mindanao admitted Monday that it is helpless in the campaign against the proliferation of television ads of food supplements claiming therapeutic effects.
Arnold Alindada of BFAD-Southern Mindanao said they do not have control when the ads are released on television, radio, and in print.
"There is an ad board which is in charge of that, we are focused on the actual product," Alindada said.
From the processing to the actual packaging, Alindada said they ensure that the food supplements are made within the standards set by the food and drug bureau. "There has to be that 'no approved therapeutic claims' portion on the label of the product," Alindada said.
However, Alindada said BFAD-Southern Mindanao is not simply sitting on the issue of food supplements claiming cures even for diseases that are deemed incurable.
"We have called on the producers and manufacturers of the food supplement to rectify their ads," he said.
Incidentally, in a news report of The Associated Press last February 9 on a high selling mangosteen health juice product by "Xango", AP reported Xango, a multilevel marketing company, has not in any way proven the juice's health benefits.
The report also said that "XanGo has been warned by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for claiming that mangosteen could ward off disease or cancer.
The company insists those claims were printed by a third party on a brochure at a recruitment seminar and it's not responsible."
