53786 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 200 / Thursday, October 16, 1997 / Notices

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, October 9, 1997.

William W. Wiles,

Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 97–27341 Filed 10–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 962–3072]

Ashland, Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public

Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this

matter settles alleged violations of

federal law prohibiting unfair or

deceptive acts or practices or unfair

methods of competition. The attached

Analysis to Aid Public Comment

describes both the allegations in the

draft complaint that accompanies the

consent agreement and the terms of the

consent order—embodied in the consent

agreement—that would settle these

allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before December 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

directed to: FTC/Office of the Secretary,

Room 159, 6th St. and Pa. Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elaine D. Kolish, Federal Trade

Commission, S–4302, 6th St. and

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,

DC 20580. (202) 326–3042. Robert

Frisby, Federal Trade Commission, S–

4302, 6th St. and Pennsylvania Ave.,

NW., Washington, DC 20580. (202) 326–

2098.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to section 6(f) of the Federal Trade

Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C.

46, and section 2.34 of the

Commission’s Rules of Practice (16 CFR

2.34), notice is hereby given that the

above-captioned consent agreement

containing a consent order to cease and

desist, having been filed with and

accepted, subject to final approval, by

the Commission, has been placed on the

public record for a period of sixty (60)

days. The following Analysis to Aid

Public Comment describes the terms of

the consent agreement, and the

allegations in the accompanying

complaint. An electronic copy of the

full text of the consent agreement

package can be obtained from the

Commission Actions section of the FTC

Home Page (for October 8, 1997), on the

World Wide Web, at ‘‘http://

www.ftc.gov/os/actions97.htm.’’ A

paper copy can be obtained from the

FTC Public Reference Room, Room H–

130, Sixth Street and Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580

either in person or by calling (202) 326–

3627. Public comment is invited. Such

comments or views will be considered

by the Commission and will be available

for inspection and copying at its

principal office in accordance with

section 4.9(b)(6)(ii) of the Commission’s

Rules of Practice (16 CFR 4.9(b)(6)(ii).

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To

Aid Public Comment

The Federal Trade Commission has

accepted, subject to final approval, an

agreement to a proposed consent order

from Ashland, Inc. (‘‘Ashland’’). The

agreement would settle a proposed

complaint by the Federal Trade

Commission that Ashland engaged in

unfair or deceptive acts or practices in

violation of section 5(a) of the Federal

Trade Commission Act.

The proposed consent order has been

placed on the public record for sixty

(60) days for reception of comments by

interested persons. Comments received

during this period will become part of

the public record. After sixty (60) days,

the Commission will again review the

agreement and the comments received

and will decide whether it should

withdraw from the agreement or make

final the agreement’s proposed order.

This matter concerns advertising

practices related to the sale of Valvoline

TM8 Engine Treatment (‘‘TM8’’). The

proposed complaint charges that,

through the use of statements contained

in its advertisements and promotional

materials, Ashland made the following

unsubstantiated representations: (1)

TM8 bonds Teflon to engine parts; (2)

compared to motor oil alone, TM8:

reduces engine wear; reduces camshaft

bearing wear by up to 75%; reduces

main bearing wear by up to 75%; under

high temperature conditions

experienced by engines, provides twice

as much wear protection; extends the

duration of engine life; and improves

fuel economy; and (3) One treatment of

TM8 lasts for 50,000 miles. Lastly, the

proposed complaint alleges that

Ashland falsely represented that tests

prove that, compared to motor oil alone,

TM8: reduces camshaft bearing wear by

up to 75%; reduces main bearing wear

by up to 75%; under high temperature

conditions experienced by engines,

provides twice as much wear protection;

and improves fuel economy.

The proposed consent order contains

provisions designed to prevent Ashland

from engaging in similar acts and

practices in the future. Part I of the

proposed order prohibits Ashland from

making any representation about the

performance or attributes of any engine

treatment unless, at the time it makes

the representation, Ashland possesses

and relies upon competent and reliable

evidence, which when appropriate must

be scientific evidence, that substantiates

the representation. Part I also prohibits

Ashland from misrepresenting the

results of tests or studies.

The proposed order also contains

standards provisions regarding recordkeeping, notification of changes in

corporate status, distribution of the

order, termination of the order, and the

filing of a compliance report.

The purpose of this analysis is to

facilitate public comment on the

proposed order, and it is not intended

to constitute an official interpretation of

the agreement and the proposed order or

to modify their terms in any way.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–27358 Filed 10–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

Medical Devices; Product Development

Protocol; Public Workshop

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration,

HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug

Administration (FDA), in cooperation

with the Health Industry Manufacturers

Association (HIMA), is announcing a

public workshop to discuss use of the

Product Development Protocol (PDP) as

an alternate means for medical device

approval. This public workshop is being

held so that FDA may gather

information to assist in developing an

efficient, practical PDP process.

DATES: The public workshop will be

held on Wednesday, October 22, 1997,

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public workshop will

be held at the Renaissance Hotel, 999

9th St. NW., Washington, DC 20001.

Attendees requiring overnight

accommodations may contact the hotel

at 202–898–9000 and reference the

FDA/HIMA meeting to ensure

conference rates. To register for the

public workshop, contact HIMA,

Meetings Department, 1200 G St. NW.,

Washington, DC 20005, 202–434–7237.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lillian L. Yin, Center for Devices and

Radiological Health (HFZ–470), 9200