The National Advertising Division has determined that Rainbow Light Nutritional Systems has removed from its website advertising for the company’s Omega Skin & Mood dietary supplements, action that NAD had concluded was necessary and appropriate.

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

As part of its routine monitoring program and in conjunction with its initiative with the Council for Responsible Nutrition designed to expand NAD’s review of advertising claims for dietary supplements, NAD had requested that the advertiser provide substantiation for claims that included:

·         “The unique combination of DHA, EPA, along with astaxanthin, ResVinol-25 and GLA, work to reduce visible signs of aging… ”
·         “Omega Skin and Mood is formulated to reduce fine lines and support a healthy mood.”
·         “Combat environmental pollutants and sun damage.”

Upon receipt of NAD’s latter, the advertiser represented to NAD that it was in the process of removing Omega Skin & Mood from the marketplace. The advertiser also assured NAD that it had competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the claims but due to the product being discontinued it requested that NAD close the case administratively. The advertiser also assured NAD in writing that the claims were permanently discontinued and that it had no intention of using the challenged claims in the future.

NAD confirmed that the Omega Skin & Mood dietary supplements have been removed from the advertiser’s website and are no longer being promoted for sale. NAD said it appreciated the advertiser’s written assurance that the claims were permanently discontinued and that it had no intention of using the challenged claims in the future—an action, given the absence of supporting evidence in the record, that NAD determined was necessary and proper.

Rainbow Light, in its advertiser’s statement, said it “disagrees with any suggestion by NAD that the claims were discontinued due to a lack of substantiation. Rather, the claims are fully supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence and RLN simply made the appropriate business decision not to engage in an expensive self-regulatory process for a product that was discontinued for business reasons. However, in the support of the self-regulatory process, RLN agrees to permanently discontinue these claims.”