Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 66 / Monday, April 7, 1997 / Notices 16583

representation is made, proposed

respondents possess and rely upon

competent and reliable scientific

evidence that substantiates the

representation.

Paragraph II of the proposed order

prohibits proposed respondents from

making any representation for SveltPATCH, or any other drug or device,

about the health benefits, performance,

or efficacy of such product unless, at the

time the representation is made,

proposed respondents possess and rely

upon competent and reliable scientific

evidence that substantiates the

representation.

Paragraph III of the proposed order

prohibits proposed respondents from

misrepresenting the existence, contents,

validity, results, conclusions, or

interpretations of any test, study, or

study.

Paragraphs IV of the proposed order

provides that nothing in this order shall

prohibit proposed respondents from

making any representation permitted by

the Food and Drug Administration.

Paragraph V of the proposed order

requires proposed respondents to pay

three hundred and seventy-five

thousand dollars ($375,000) in

consumer redress, or if consumer

redress is impracticable or unwarranted,

said money shall be payable to the

United States Treasury.

Paragraph VI of the proposed order

contains recordkeeping requirements for

materials that substantiate, qualify, or

contradict covered claims and requires

the proposed respondents to keep and

maintain all advertisements and

promotional materials containing any

representation covered by the proposed

order. In addition, paragraph VII

requires distribution of a copy of the

consent decree to current and future

officers and agents. Further, paragraph

VIII provides for Commission

notification upon a change in the

corporate respondent. Paragraph IX

requires proposed respondent Patrice

Runner to notify the respondents when

he discontinues his current business or

employment and of his affiliation with

certain new businesses or employment.

The proposed order also requires the

filing of a compliance report (Paragraph

X).

Finally, paragraph XI of the proposed

order provides for the termination of the

order after twenty years under certain

circumstances.

The purpose of this analysis is to

facilitate public comment on the

proposed order. It is not intended to

constitute an official interpretation of

the agreement and proposed order or to

modify in any way their terms.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–8801 Filed 4–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 912–3220]

Dean Distributors, Inc., et al., d/b/a

Advanced Health Systems, Cambridge

Direct Sales, and Medibase; Analysis

To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

SUMMARY: In settlement of alleged

violations of federal law prohibiting

unfair or deceptive acts or practices and

unfair methods of competition, this

consent agreement, accepted subject to

final Commission approval, would

require, among other things, the

California-based companies, which

market low calorie and very low calorie

diet (VLCD) programs, to possess a

reasonable basis for any future claims

regarding weight loss or weight loss

maintenance, and to clearly and

prominently disclose in any

representation regarding the safety of

respondent’s VLCD diet programs that

physician monitoring is required to

minimize the potential for health risks,

namely development of gallbladder

disease.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 6, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

directed to: FTC/Office of Secretary,

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

Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Walter Gross or J. Reilly Dolan, FTC/H–

200, Washington, DC 20580. (202) 326–

3319 or 326–3292.

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

complaint. An electronic copy of the

full text of the consent agreement

package can be obtained from the FTC

Home page (for March 25, 1997), on the

World Wide Web, at ‘‘http://

www.ftc.gov/os/actions/htm.’’ A paper

copy can be obtained from the FTC

Public Reference Room, Room H-130,

Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue,

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

The Federal Trade Commission has

accepted an agreement to a proposed

consent order from Dean Distributors,

Inc., a corporation doing business as

advanced Health Care Systems,

Cambridge Direct Sales and Medibase.

Proposed respondent markets low

calorie and very low calorie diet

programs through a multi-level

distribution system and directly to

independent physicians.

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 will decide whether it

should withdraw from the agreement or

make final the agreement’s proposed

order.

The Commission has alleged that

proposed respondent has made false

and unsubstantiated claims in its

advertising, promotional and sales

materials that are likely to mislead

consumers as to: (1) the likelihood of

success in achieving and maintaining

weight reduction; and (2) the health risk

associated with rapid weight loss.

Proposed respondent has represented,

through consumer endorsements, that

its diet programs produce successful

results. The consumers featured in these

testimonials purportedly achieved

remarkable success in reaching a

desired weight, and in changing their

appearance. Through these consumer

endorsements, proposed respondent has

represented that he success achieved by

such consumers in reaching their weight

loss goal reflects the typical or ordinary

experiences of participants of

respondent’s weight loss programs. The

Commission has alleged that proposed

respondent had failed to substantiate

the claim that the weight loss success

experienced by persons featured in

these testimonial advertisements is

representative of what consumers will

generally achieve with the products.
16584 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 66 / Monday, April 7, 1997 / Notices

The Commission has also alleged that

proposed respondent has represented

that the typical consumer of its products

and services is successful in

maintaining achieved weight loss, or, at

a minimum, a substantial portion of

achieved weight loss, over time.

Proposed respondent has not provided

adequate substantiation to support

representations regarding the long-term

effectiveness of the weight loss products

and programs. Furthermore, according

to the Commission’s complaint,

proposed respondent has represented

that its maintenance claims were based

in part upon a valid statistical analysis

of its customers. However, the

Commission has alleged that the

analysis in question was not based upon

a valid statistical sample of proposed

respondent’s customers.

Finally, the Commission has alleged

that proposed respondent has

represented that its physician monitored

very-low-calorie diet programs are free

of serious health risks without

disclosing that physician monitoring is

necessary to minimize the risk of

serious health complications associated

with very-low calorie diet programs.

Further the Commission has alleged that

in materials prepared specifically for

physicians of patients using the verylow-calorie diets, proposed respondent

failed to list serious adverse heath

complications that have been associated

with very-low-calorie diets.

The proposed consent order seeks to

address the alleged misrepresentations

cited in the accompanying complaint by

requiring proposed respondents to

possess a reasonable basis for any future

claims regarding weight loss or weight

loss maintenance. The proposed consent

order also requires proposed respondent

to clearly and prominently disclose in

any representation regarding the safety

of respondent’s VLCD diet programs

that physician monitoring is required to

minimize the potential for health risks,

namely development of gallbladder

disease.

The purpose of this analysis is to

facilitate public comment on the

proposed order, and is not intended to

constitute an official interpretation of

the agreement and proposed order or to

modify in any way their terms.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–8799 Filed 4–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 962–3172]

Amerifit, Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public

Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

SUMMARY: In settlement of alleged

violations of federal law prohibiting

unfair or deceptive acts or practices and

unfair methods of competition, this

consent agreement, accepted subject to

final Commission approval, would

require, among other things, the

Connecticut-based company to pay

$100,000 to the Commission for

disgorgement and would prohibit the

respondent from representing that the

Fat Burners products, or any other food,

drug, or dietary supplement cause

weight loss or reduce body fat unless, at

the time the representation is made, it

possesses and relies upon competent

and reliable scientific evidence that

substantiates the representation. In

addition, the proposed consent

agreement would prohibit the

respondent from using the trade name

‘‘Fat Burners,’’ unless it is used as part

of the trade name ‘‘Fat Burners Diet,

Exercise and Supplement System’’ and

a disclosure statement is prominently

and clearly placed on materials

containing that name.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 6, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

directed to: FTC/Office of the Secretary,

Room 159, 6th St. and Pa. Ave., N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Justin Dingfelder or Jeffrey Feinstein,

FTC/S–4302, Washington, D.C. 20580.

(202) 326–3017 or 326–2372.

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

complaint. An electronic copy of the

full text of the consent agreement

package can be obtained from the FTC

Home page (for March 25, 1997), on the

World Wide Web, at ‘‘http://

www.ftc.gov/os/actions/htm.’’ A paper

copy can be obtained from the FTC

Public Reference Room, Room H–130,

Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 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

The Federal Trade Commission has

accepted, subject to final approval, an

agreement to a proposed consent order

from AmeriFIT, Inc. (respondent). The

agreement would settle a proposed

complaint by the Commission that

respondent engaged in unfair or

deceptive acts or practices in violation

of sections 5(a) and 12 of the Federal

Trade Commission Act.

The proposed consent order has been

placed on the public record for sixty

(60) days for receipt 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.

The Commission’s complaint alleges

that respondent manufactured,

advertised, labeled, offered for sale, sold

and distributed products to the public,

including ‘‘Fat Burners,’’ ‘‘Fast

Burners,’’ ‘‘Improved Formula Fat

Burners,’’ and ‘‘Extra Strength Fat

Burners’’ (collectively, ‘‘the Fat Burners

products’’), and represented that the Fat

Burners products cause weight loss or

reduced body fat. The Commission’s

complaint further alleges that

respondent did not possess and rely

upon a reasonable basis that

substantiated those representations.

The consent agreement resolving

these allegations prohibits respondent

from representing that the Fat Burners

products, or any other food, drug, or

dietary supplement cause weight loss or

reduce body fate unless, at the time the

representation is made, it possesses and

relies upon competent and reliable

scientific evidence that substantiates the

representation.

The agreement further prohibits

respondent from using the name ‘‘Fat

Burners’’ or any other name that

communicates the same or similar

meaning unless the material containing

the name clearly and prominently

contains the following disclosure:

THE DIETARY SUPPLEMENT IN THIS

SYSTEM IS FOR NUTRITIONAL USE ONLY