Ayurvedic Product Company Receives Covid Warning Letter

This company was cited for making immunity and Covid support claims, which remain top of mind for the authorities.

There is never a suitable time to discuss Covid support claims when selling products, so a good practice is to remove all references to Covid or Coronavirus from any marketing platform, including old social posts. Removing these "buzzwords" dramatically helps to mitigate risk.

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Authorities look at the 10,000-foot view of a company's online persona. Unless egregious, one "buzzword" will likely not attract a warning letter, but claims on social media, videos, blogs, product reviews, hashtags, and ingredient descriptions elevate risk. The authorities piece them together for one big picture of non-compliance—the more "buzzwords," the higher chance of scrutiny. I suggest removing or replacing them with truthful, accurate, and not misleading options.

This company is an all-in-one Sri Lankan travel agent, web designer, and Ayurvedic product seller who probably didn't realize they were breaking the law by making high-risk Covid claims. This is one of the missions of Warning Letter Wednesday; to educate unknowing companies about the dos and don'ts of marketing compliance. Sadly, this company still doesn't get it, as they removed the Covid statements cited in the warning letter but left claims relating to preventing heart attacks and fighting the flu. This is a good lesson about the nuances of supplement and food marketing for companies entering these industries. If you know any of these companies, please feel free to share some of my regulatory hints videos.

This company was cited for discussing the benefits of its tea ingredient. I talk about how discussing ingredient benefits can lead to a warning letter here.

This is also a joint FDA/FTC warning letter. I discuss more about what this means here.

Read the full warning letter here. 

Disclaimer: The educational information provided here is for informational purposes only. Contact an attorney for specific legal advice. Rule #1 in compliance is to ensure marketing is truthful and not misleading.