Wellness Supplement Sued Over ‘Immunity’ Claims

Vive Organic Inc. (Law360 subscription required) has been sued for allegedly deceptively marketing its wellness shots as “immunity boosting” and “doctor crafted” despite a lack of evidence that the product can protect against infection or illness.
According to the plaintiff, the product labels bear the words “immunity boost” and “doctor crafted,” as well as an image of a stethoscope in a heart shape and images of three people labeled as doctors and dressed in lab coats. The plaintiff alleges that the marketing of the product is false and unsubstantiated because “no food or dietary supplement can ‘boost’ one’s immune system” and the company “has no medical evidence to substantiate” the representations.
The complaint states that Vive Organic only consulted with holistic practitioners and family medicine physicians, rather than immunologists, which misleads consumers regarding the expertise behind the product. The complaint further quotes an article from the American Association of Immunologists stating that immunity-boosting claims are often “too good to be true” and “not based on science or what is known about immune function.”
Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor lawsuits related to claims on food and dietary supplement products.

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