A dietary supplement company agreed to pay a $1.1 million settlement after a group of California district attorneys — including several in the Bay Area — challenged the company’s claims that its freeze-dried capsules could cure diabetes, lupus and numerous other ailments.
About $250,000 of the settlement has been set aside for customer restitution, meaning that any California resident who bought a Balance of Nature product in the last six years may be able to claim a refund. The other $850,000 portion of the settlement will go toward civil penalties and investigative costs, the release said.
The company’s misleading advertising campaign centered on capsules that claim to be filled with freeze-dried and powdered fruits and vegetables. The company claimed those capsules contained heaps of servings of fruits and vegetables — so much so that they could either cure or treat a long list of diseases, including arthritis, fibromyalgia and cancer, the task force said. But none of that was supported by actual scientific evidence, the task force said.
“Balance of Nature made dubious claims that their products could treat or cure serious diseases placing the public’s health in danger,” Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said in a statement. “Customers have the right to expect the products they purchase to work as advertised.”