2 Supplement Makers Settle Charge on Claims
Two nutritional-supplement makers, one based in Orange County, said Tuesday that they will disclose potential health risks on labels and in ads for products that contain androstenedione and similar steroid hormones made famous by baseball slugger Mark McGwire.
The agreements settle Federal Trade Commission charges against Irvine-based Met-Rx USA Inc. and AST Nutritional Concepts & Research Inc. of Golden, Colo.
The companies’ Web sites and promotional materials made scientifically unproven claims that the products could increase users’ muscle mass and libido with few or no side effects, the FTC said.
The settlement prohibits claims of absolute safety and requires the companies to add warnings that users risk side effects such as breast enlargement, testicle shrinkage and infertility.
“We were really concerned that there were a lot of young athletes taking this and that they, their parents and their coaches were not aware of the risks,” said Michelle Rusk, an attorney with the FTC’s division of advertising practices.
The companies said they had already begun altering their packaging to respond to the FTC’s concerns.
“We had no problem acquiescing with their request,” said Dr. Scott Connelly, Met-Rx’s chairman. “I don’t think the side effects will happen often, but it’s clearly not going to be zero.”
AST said the settlement would “pave the way for more in-depth research into the safety of sports nutrition supplements and set a higher precedent for other companies to follow.”
The settlements, filed in federal courts in Colorado and Los Angeles on Monday, require the companies to disclose whether andro supplements contain ephedra, also known as ephedrine, and its potential risks. In addition, they prohibit AST from claiming its supplements are steroid-free, the FTC said. Neither company was required to pay fines.
Andro products became the hottest thing in the $1.4-billion sports nutrition market in 1998, when McGwire acknowledged that he was using a supplement containing the hormone during his record 70-homer season. Although McGwire has since said he no longer uses andro, sales of the testosterone booster surged more than 1,000% to more than $50 million, according to industry figures.
Andro use remains controversial: Major league baseball allows players to use andro, but the supplement is banned by the National Football League, the National Basketball Assn. and the International Olympic Committee.
“I think it’s only fair to place these warnings,” said Conrad Earnest, an exercise physiologist. Earnest helped conduct a study on andro’s effects on aging men that is under review by the Journal of the American Medical Assn. “There’s not one single study showing that it’s safe or effective.”
Met-Rx sells six andro supplements priced at $25 to $65 per 60-capsule bottle, but they will contribute less than 1% of the $120 million in sales the company expects to take in this year, Connelly said. Sales have declined since the initial publicity died down and users realized the supplements did not have nearly as much power as illegal steroids, he said.
Connelly took exception to FTC comments that the products were marketed to teenagers. In fact, Met-Rx’s products bore a label saying teens should not use them even before the settlement, he said.
The FTC’s comments will only revive andro’s appeal, especially to youngsters, Connelly predicted.
“To imply these things are like anabolic steroids and that they work is the best way I know to get a teenager to buy it,” Connelly said. “I guarantee that if we get much publicity on this, our sales will go up.”
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Associated Press was used in compiling this report.
