Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it had reached an agreement with Nestlé regarding the latter’s BOOST Kids Essentials Drink, whereby the company will stop making ludicrous health claims and the FTC will discontinue investigations or impose a fine. From the FTC:
“Nestlé’s claims that its probiotic product would prevent kids from getting sick or missing school just didn’t stand up to scrutiny,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Parents want to do right by their kids, and the FTC is helping them by monitoring ads and stopping those that are deceptive.” read more…
Thank goodness. The FTC has been getting more involved in the food health claim space as of late, and this announcement should serve as a warning to other companies with industrious marketing departments that interpret scientific research, how shall we say, creatively…
It’s just a shame that the company wasn’t required to cough up some serious cash for misleading consumers over the past year or so. Nestlé no doubt made millions off this product by misleading parents. Where’s the payback?
What you need to know:
We wrote about this faux miracle product shortly after it was introduced last year, and were very skeptical about its health claims and nutritional value. When a product boasting so much health has sugar listed in 3 out of the first four ingredients, you need to be suspicious:
Ingredients: WATER, SUGAR, MALTODEXTRIN, FRUCTOSE,…
In fact, in an email response to our question, Nestle Consumer Services stated that an 8 fl oz (1 cup) serving contains 24 grams of sugars. That’s the equivalent of FIVE TEASPOONS of sugar!
If you’re looking for product info online, the website for Kids Essentials seems to be returning an ERROR MESSAGE right now.
What to do at the supermarket:
If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Which means you need to be wary of health claims and miracle attributes of any product. Always check the ingredient list to see what’s really inside. And when it come to building up your children’s immunity – the more real food they eat, the better their chances.
