WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear POM Wonderful L.L.C.’s petition regarding a 2013 Federal Trade Commission ruling that found some of the company’s health-related claims to be misleading. As a result, the F.T.C.’s cease and desist order that was issued in January 2013 will stand.
“I am pleased that the POM Wonderful case has been brought to a successful conclusion,” said Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the F.T.C. “The outcome of this case makes clear that companies like POM making serious health claims about food and nutritional supplement products must have rigorous scientific evidence to back them up. Consumers deserve no less.”
In January 2015, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the January 2013 F.T.C. decision that POM Wonderful had deceptively advertised that some of its products could treat, prevent, or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction, and were clinically proven to have such benefits. The F.T.C.’s cease and desist order requires that future disease treatment and prevention claims made by the company to be supported by at least one randomized human clinical trial and other health benefit claims to be supported by reliable scientific evidence.
POM Wonderful did not respond to a request for comment.
