Federal appeals court agrees with FTC that Pom Wonderful ad claims were deceptive
Rejecting Pom Wonderful’s free-speech argument, a federal appeals court on Friday agreed with the Federal Trade Commission that the pomegranate juice marketer made deceptive advertising health claims which weren’t backed by sufficient medical evidence.
However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that one clinical trial, rather than the two trials the FTC wanted, could be sufficient to allow Pom Wonderful to continue with ads urging consumers to “Amaze your cardiologist” and “Drink to prostate health,” reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).
“We see no basis for setting aside the commission’s conclusion that many of POM’s ads made misleading or false claims,” said the three-judge panel in a written opinion in the Washington, D.C., case. “The FTC proscribes–and the First Amendment does not protect–deceptive and misleading advertisements.”
Bloomberg and Reuters also have stories.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal: “POM Wonderful may sue over competitor’s juice label, despite FDA regulation, SCOTUS rules”
