Dietary Supplement Maker Ordered to Pay $2.65M for Unfair Business Practices

Dietary supplement distributor Irwin Naturals Inc. was ordered to pay $2.65 million to 10 California counties—including Santa Cruz—in the settlement of a false advertising and unfair competition lawsuit, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

The civil enforcement action was filed in Orange County Superior Court by the district attorneys of Santa Cruz, Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Santa Clara, Shasta, Solano and Sonoma counties.

The lawsuit stated that Los Angeles-based Irwin Naturals violated provisions in Proposition 65 that require products to carry warning labels if they expose consumers to more than half a microgram of lead per day. 

When customers returned Irwin Naturals products, according to the lawsuit, the company did not reimburse them in a timely manner. The company also sent products to direct sales customers and charged them for products they didn’t order, the district attorney’s office said.

The order requires Irwin Naturals to pay civil penalties of $1.95 million, which will be used for future enforcement of consumer-protection laws. The company must also pay up to $100,000 to California consumers who never received their requested refunds and $600,000 for costs incurred during the investigation, the district attorney’s office reported.

Irwin Naturals distributes dietary supplement products to more than 50 countries. It also markets and sells products through direct sales and in retail stores.

A task force made up of the 10 DA's offices was formed in 2008 to investigate Irwin Naturals for false and misleading representation in their marketing and sales of certain products. These included Dual Action Cleanse, Fast Action Hoodia Diet and 10 Day Hoodia Diet. When the Hoodia products were tested, it was proved that they did not contain Hoodia gordonii, even though the label said otherwise, the district attorney’s office said.

Further investigation revealed that the company was marketing and selling some dietary supplements that contained lead. Laboratory testing showed that certain Irwin Naturals products—Green Tea Fat Metabolizer and Green Tea Fat Burner—contained more than half a microgram of lead, more than 14 times over the legal limit of lead. Other products—System Six and Green Tea Fat Meltdown dietary supplements—were found to contain up to 10 times over the legal limit of lead. 

Irwin Naturals did not have to admit fault or liability as a requirement of the settlement but agreed to strict terms to prevent future unfair or deceptive practices. Irwin Naturals stopped selling or reformulated all of the tested products after it was alerted to the test results. In the future, the company must include warning information with all products containing specific levels of lead marketed to California residents, the district attorney’s office said.

Irwin Naturals was ordered to pay restitution to consumers who filed documented complaints with Irwin Naturals, the Better Business Bureau, the California Attorney General or any of the prosecuting District Attorney Offices between July 1, 2006, and Jan. 18 of this year, unless they have already received refunds, the district attorney’s office said.

Orange County Judge David McEachen and the 10 DAs offices signed the settlement on Tuesday.