Karen Robinson-Jacobs of The Dallas Morning News continues her series on the ongoing investigation by the Texas Attorney General's Office of Dallas area supplement multi-level marketer Mannatech.

Proposed Federal Trade Commission Business Opportunity rules directed at multilevel marketing companies could have a devastating impact on dietary supplement and functional food companies that rely on multilevel marketing to distribute their products. 

Berkeley Nutriceuticals, the maker of “natural male enhancement” supplement Enzyte, has agreed to settle an unfair and deceptive trade practices suit for $4.7m, with about 1/3 of that going to the lawyers.

The FDA has scheduled a public hearing on the regulation of foods being marketed as "functional foods." According to this Federal Register Notice, the purpose of the hearing is "for the agency to share its current regulatory framework and rationale regarding the safety evaluation and labeling of these foods, and to solicit information and comments from interested persons on how FDA should regulate these foods under the agency's existing legal authority."

The US Tax Court has held that when a dietary supplement manufacturer suffers "shrinkage" of inventory due to spoilage of supplements it may reduce its cost of goods sold, and its corresponding tax burden, by the value of the lost supplements.

In a joint press release, the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration announced a “joint diabetes initiative” to stop deceptive internet advertisements and sales of products the agencies claim are misrepresented as cures or treatments for diabetes.

Norm Rich of Foley has penned two excellent articles on trademarks and service marks entitled Strength and value of US trademarks and service marks and Selecting trademarks and service marks that maximize protection and value on Nutraingredients-USA.com. 

Popular mangosteen functional beverage marketer XanGo has come under scrutiny from the FDA for its claims. To read the FDA warning letter to XanGo, click here.

Nutraceutical Corp. has filed a motion for rehearing and for rehearing en banc of the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Neutraceutical Corp.

A new organization dedicated to increasing FDA funding has launched. The Coalition for a stronger FDA describes itself as a broad and diverse coalition calling for a renewed public commitment to the Food and Drug Administration and its unique role in protecting American consumers and patients.

E! reports that Dr. Phil has settled the unfair trade practices lawsuit against him concerning his ill-fated venture into dietary supplements. According to E!, Dr. Phil McGraw has agreed to a $10.8 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by three customers claiming that adhering to the rigorous regimen of supplements failed to result in shed pounds.

The DEA has arrested several executives associated with nutraceutical maker Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals for a variety of offences relating to the distribution of adulterated generic drugs. To read the Department of Justice press release, click here.

Steve Warshak, former CEO of embattled Berkley Nutraceuticals was finally indicted last week. The indictment is so large it had to be split up into separate PDF files in order to fit on the court e-filing system.

Several press stories on the web report that the male enhancement supplement Nasutra has been recalled. The manufacturer claims several lots of Nasutra were tested and preliminarily found to contain Acetildenafil, an analogue of Sildenafil, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Viagra.

The infomercial is a popular marketing vehicle for nutraceuticals and alternative medical devices. Recently, unscrupulous infomercial marketers have come under attack for unfair and deceptive trade practices.

The National Law Journal has published an interesting article entitled "Blogs are liberating the profession from dull writing - They're emerging as a powerful tool for lawyers and law professors," by Douglas A.

FDA issued this press release yesterday regarding a seizure at Florida supplement company Advantage Nutraceuticals, LLC. The press release doesn't say which part of FDA this comes from but one would assume it originates in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Trade secret and patent protection for nutraceuticals. Can't get more current than that. And three lawyers from Foley & Lardner provide info on both in a pair of articles published in the last week or so.

In a 23 page opinion, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has reversed the Utah District Court and held that the FDA's ban on low dose ephedra was not arbitrary or capricious.

Privacy advocates may have found an unlikely hero in the form of Steve Warshak (pictured left), CEO of embattled Berkley Nutraceuticals. In a 19 page ruling, a federal district court in Ohio has barred the US Government from seizing stored emails in several email accounts at ISP's used by Warshak.