FOR RELEASE: DECEMBER 30, 1992
ARIZONA COMPANY AGREES TO PAY $200,000 TO SETTLE FTC CHARGES
IT MADE FALSE HEALTH CLAIMS ABOUT BEE-POLLEN PRODUCTS
The CC Pollen Company, a Phoenix-based firm, and its owners
have agreed to pay $200,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission
charges that they falsely represented that products containing
bee pollen could cause consumers to lose weight, alleviate perma-
nently their allergy symptoms, and reverse the aging process,
among other claims. The FTC also alleged that some of the claims
were made in "infomercials" that CC Pollen misrepresented to be
objective news or documentary programs, rather than the paid ads
that they were.
The FTC also charged CC Pollen's principals, Bruce R. Brown,
Carol M. Brown, and Royden Brown, all of Phoenix (collectively,
CC Pollen). All have signed the proposed settlement agreement.
Under that agreement, announced today for public comment, CC
Pollen would pay the $200,000 as disgorgement of profits. In
addition, among other things, CC Pollen and the individual
respondents would be prohibited from making the specifically-
alleged false claims, and required to have scientific evidence to
support any other health-benefits claims they make about any food
or other product for human consumption, in the future. Further,
the settlement would prohibit the respondents from producing or
distributing any advertisement that is represented to be
something other than a paid ad, and require them to prominently
disclose in all future infomercials they create that the programs
are paid ads.
According to the FTC's complaint detailing its allegations,
CC Pollen advertised and sold products containing bee pollen in
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(CC Pollen--12/30/92)
various forms, and promoted the products in print ads and through
program-length television commercials, or "infomercials." The
infomercials were titled, "The Search for the Fountain of Youth"
and "TV Insiders."
The FTC attached the ads and infomercial scripts to its
complaint, and cited language from both. For example, according
to the complaint, the program host for the "Insiders" infomercial
referred to "this installment" of the program, and the "hundreds
of letters" the program had received from viewers. In addition,
the FTC cited the closing language used by the host: "So until
our next mission, this is your inside investigator, Vince Inneo,
wishing you good health...." Similarly, the FTC cited the
"Fountain of Youth" infomercial host's statement that the program
"is not offering any medical miracles, nor are we making any
medical claims at all in this report. We're simply going to
present the facts as we have found them, so you can explore this
phenomenon with us."
Through these and other statements in the infomercials, the
FTC charged, CC Pollen falsely represented, directly or by
implication, that the infomercials were not paid-for advertise-
ments, but rather independent and objective documentary or news
programs.
The FTC also alleged that, in these infomercials as well as
the print ads, CC Pollen falsely represented that consumption of
bee-pollen products:
-- cannot result in an allergic reaction;
-- will alleviate permanently all of the consumer's pollen-
allergy symptoms;
-- slows, prevents, or reverses the aging process;
-- can cure, prevent, or alleviate impotence or sexual
dysfunction; and
-- cause weight loss.
In addition, CC Pollen allegedly represented that bee pollen
products are an effective antibiotic for human use. None of
these claims are true, the FTC charged.
Under the proposed consent agreement to settle the charges,
CC Pollen would be prohibited from creating, producing, selling
or disseminating any advertisement that misrepresents that it is
not a paid advertisement. In addition, the agreement would
(CC Pollen--12/30/92)
impose a mandatory disclosure requirement in all commercials more
than 15 minutes in length, as follows:
THE PROGRAM YOU ARE WATCHING
IS A PAID ADVERTISEMENT FOR
(THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE)
Further, the proposed settlement would prohibit the
respondents from making any of the six claims about bee-pollen
products alleged in the complaint, unless the statement is
approved by the Food and Drug Administration for inclusion in the
product's labeling.
The proposed consent agreement would require CC Pollen to
immediately cease and desist from making any representations that
any of its bee-pollen products will have any effect on the user's
health or physical condition, unless the respondents can provide
competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate their
claims. The FTC defines "competent and reliable scientific
evidence" as research, tests or other evidence based on the
expertise of qualified professionals in the field, conducted in
an objective manner using procedures generally accepted as
yielding accurate and reliable results.
Finally, the $200,000 disgorgement payment required by the
proposed settlement would have to be paid to the U.S. Treasury --
half within five days after the FTC approves the settlement and
serves it on the respondents, and the balance within one year.
In a related case announced in 1990, the FTC charged TV
Inc., a Florida firm that produced "TV Insiders" for CC Pollen,
with misrepresenting that the infomercial was an independent and
objective program, and with making false and unsubstantiated
health claims about the bee-pollen products promoted in the
program. A consent agreement with TV Inc. settled the FTC
charges.
Both cases were handled by the FTC's Cleveland Regional
Office.
The proposed consent agreement will be published in the
Federal Register shortly and will be subject to public comment
for 60 days, after which the Commission will decide whether to
make it final. Comments should be addressed to the FTC, Office
of the Secretary, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580.
NOTE: A consent agreement is for settlement purposes only and
does not constitute an admission of a law violation. When the
(CC Pollen--12/30/92)
Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries
the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation
of such an order may result in a civil penalty of $10,000.
An FTC consumer fact sheet, "Program-length TV Commercials,"
describing how to spot a paid advertisement is available free by
writing to the address listed below.
Copies of the complaint and proposed consent agreement, and
an analysis to aid public comment, are available from the FTC's
Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY 202-326-
2502.
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT: Don Elder, Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2181
STAFF CONTACT: Brinley Williams, Cleveland Regional Office
668 Euclid Avenue Suite 520-A
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-522-4210
(FTC File No. 902 3145)
(CCPOLLEN)