Sean Moloughney03.24.09
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Washington, D.C., is warning consumers not to enroll online in “free trials” of diet products containing the trendy Brazilian superfruit acai.
While traditionally a popular food in its native land, there’s no evidence to suggest that acai products will help shed pounds, flatten tummies, cleanse colons, enhance sexual desire or perform any of the other commonly advertised functions, CSPI said. And thousands of consumers have had trouble stopping recurrent charges on their credit cards when they cancel their free trials.
In January the Better Business Bureau announced that it had received thousands of acai-related complaints.
Even websites purporting to warn about acai-related scams are themselves perpetrating scams, according to CSPI. “If Bernard Madoff were in the food business, he’d be offering ‘free’ trials of acai-based weight-loss products," said CSPI senior nutritionist David Schardt, who authored an exposé of the scam in the April issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Healthletter. "Law enforcement has yet to catch up to these rogue operators. Until they do, consumers have to protect themselves."
CSPI says that if consumers still want to take advantage of a "free" trial of acai, they should use a prepaid credit card with a low credit limit or a virtual credit card that shields the real credit card number from unscrupulous online vendors.
In early 2008, acai gained the spotlight thanks to a few celebrity endorsements, including Oprah Winfrey. Since then fake blogs as well as advertisements on Google, Facebook and major news media websites have steered consumers to various web-based companies that have taken advantage of unsuspecting consumers.
"There are no magical berries from the Brazilian rainforest that cure obesity—only painfully real credit card charges and empty weight loss promises," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. "Aggressive acai berry pitches on the Internet entice countless consumers into free trials promising weight loss, energy and detoxification. These claims are based on folklore, traditional remedies and outright fabrications—unproven by real scientific evidence. In reality, consumers lose more money than weight after free trials transition into inescapable charges. We will investigate these allegedly misleading or deceptive nutrition and health claims and take action under our consumer protection statutes—as we have done with other food products."
While traditionally a popular food in its native land, there’s no evidence to suggest that acai products will help shed pounds, flatten tummies, cleanse colons, enhance sexual desire or perform any of the other commonly advertised functions, CSPI said. And thousands of consumers have had trouble stopping recurrent charges on their credit cards when they cancel their free trials.
In January the Better Business Bureau announced that it had received thousands of acai-related complaints.
Even websites purporting to warn about acai-related scams are themselves perpetrating scams, according to CSPI. “If Bernard Madoff were in the food business, he’d be offering ‘free’ trials of acai-based weight-loss products," said CSPI senior nutritionist David Schardt, who authored an exposé of the scam in the April issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Healthletter. "Law enforcement has yet to catch up to these rogue operators. Until they do, consumers have to protect themselves."
CSPI says that if consumers still want to take advantage of a "free" trial of acai, they should use a prepaid credit card with a low credit limit or a virtual credit card that shields the real credit card number from unscrupulous online vendors.
In early 2008, acai gained the spotlight thanks to a few celebrity endorsements, including Oprah Winfrey. Since then fake blogs as well as advertisements on Google, Facebook and major news media websites have steered consumers to various web-based companies that have taken advantage of unsuspecting consumers.
"There are no magical berries from the Brazilian rainforest that cure obesity—only painfully real credit card charges and empty weight loss promises," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. "Aggressive acai berry pitches on the Internet entice countless consumers into free trials promising weight loss, energy and detoxification. These claims are based on folklore, traditional remedies and outright fabrications—unproven by real scientific evidence. In reality, consumers lose more money than weight after free trials transition into inescapable charges. We will investigate these allegedly misleading or deceptive nutrition and health claims and take action under our consumer protection statutes—as we have done with other food products."