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Company Settles Over Allegations it Used Unproven Medical Claims to Market Fish Oil Supplements

  • The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) approved a final settlement with German multinational chemical company BASF SE and its U.S. subsidiary, as well as BASF-retained marketing company DIEM Labs, LLC (collectively “BASF”), to resolve allegations that BASF made deceptive and scientifically unsupported claims to market its dietary fish oil supplements in violation of the FTC Act.
  • The complaint alleged that BASF deceptively advertised two dietary fish oil supplements, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, as clinically proven to reduce liver fat in individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (“NAFLD”).
  • Under the terms of the final consent orders, BASF will pay $416,914 to the FTC for consumer refunds and will be prohibited from claiming that any product containing one or more omega-3 fatty acids reduces liver fat in individuals with NAFLD or can help with any other disease unless the claim is substantiated by scientific evidence in the form of randomized human clinical trials.