Warning About Acai Berry Offers
Thousands of consumers couldn’t resist the 14-day free trial featuring the acai-berry supplement, hailed by those who hawk it in national television ads and on the Internet as a pill that can do everything from fight cancer to stop aging to promote weight loss.
But the Better Business Bureau has issued a nationwide warning cautioning consumers to be wary of online ads relying on celebrity endorsements – including an apparently misleading pitch featuring Oprah Winfrey – to sell acai-berry-related weight loss products after receiving complaints against companies based in South Florida, Fort Worth and Arizona.
The supplement companies have not delivered what they promised in their ads, the Better Business Bureau said. Consumers have complained that they couldn’t cancel future deliveries of pills for which they were charged about $80 each month.
In South Florida, the Better Business Bureau has received 2,187 complaints against South Florida Nutrition Inc. (SFL Nutrition), 2,187 complaints against GlobalNet Pharmacies and more than 2,000 against Aton Solutions. The Boca Raton-based companies share multiple addresses but list the same individuals as registered agents and managers.
The Florida Attorney General’s office is also investigating consumer complaints against these three companies.
“Consumers are signed up for re-occurring orders without their authorization and are unable to cancel orders, obtain promised refunds or get customer assistance,” said Sandi Copes, a spokeswoman with the Attorney General’s Office.
The Better Business Bureau revoked GlobalNet Pharmacies’ membership because of the company’s affiliation with SFL Nutrition and Aton Solutions, spokesman Mike Galvin said.
In addition, the bureau has given all the companies an “F” rating based on their response to consumer complaints.
Anthony Pellegrino, one of the companies’ managers, said that SFL Nutrition wasn’t prepared to handle the large volume of orders and calls prompted by the ads.
“We have implemented a lot of things in the past couple of months,” Pellegrino said, adding that SFL Nutrition’s Web site has live customer service.
William White, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida and Caribbean, said many businesses across the country are using the same selling model by luring buyers with free trial offers and celebrity endorsements.
In ads on social networking sites such as Facebook, Winfrey is shown apparently endorsing acai-berry products. Don Halcombe, a Harpo Productions Inc. spokesman, said Winfrey is not associated with the companies and doesn’t endorse any acai-berry products or online solicitation of such products.
The acai berry has been credited by supplement sellers with fighting cancer and other diseases. While a 2006 University of Florida study showed extracts from acai destroyed cultured human leukemia cells in the laboratory, researchers said this was not proof that acai berries could prevent cancer.
The purple berry, which tastes like a blend of fruit and chocolate, is harvested from the Amazon rain forest. It has become so popular that 1.5 million Google searches were logged in November.
Producers of acai-berry supplements, juices and tea have successfully marketed the products online. In 2008, sales reached $15 million, up from $500,000 in previous years.
Stephen Barrett, founder of Quackwatch.com, a consumer health advocacy site, said there’s little or no scientific evidence to support claims that supplements containing antioxidants prevent cancer and other illnesses or promote weight loss.
“The question is what data or evidence they based these claims on?” Barrett said. “This has been said about dozens of supplements, but a few trials have not had any promising results.”
Filed Under: Cardio
