SAN DIEGO -- A popular health supplement made in Carlsbad, Calif., is now the focus of a federal investigation, 10News reported.
Federal officials believe Seasilver, a liquid nutritional supplement, is making false claims about the benefits of its product and has filed a lawsuit.
The company claims Seasilver is 50 times stronger than kelp and strengthens the immune system. It also claims to cleanse vital organs and purifies blood.
Company employees arrived to work on Monday and were greeted with extra security and a two-page statement telling employees that the Federal Trade Commission had filed a lawsuit and was temporarily shutting the firm down.
"People who have jobs, depend on this job. This uncertainty is flabbergasting," Seasilver employee Sherilyn Brown said.
According to the statement, the lawsuit claims that Seasilver has made false claims about the benefits of its products in marketing materials and on product labels."None of us knew this was going to happen. None of us," Brown said

While Brown, who takes the supplement, was stunned at the news, she did recall some peculiar behavior from the company last week, when they were asked to hand in their product handbooks.
"They're like, nobody can keep them. They were going to destroy them," she said.
The FTC said agents visited the company Monday to "preserve evidence."
As for the product itself, the FTC said there is no immediate health risk.
"If we felt it's poisonous, we'd be providing more information," the statement read.
The FTC also said it will release more information on the lawsuit on Thursday. Company officials were unavailable for comment, 10News reported.

Comments:

After more than 30 years of manufacturing the finest herbs and health supplements, Nature’s Sunshine Products has never been shut down by the FDA or FTC. NSP’s scientists and legal department work closely with the FDA and other government agencies to ensure that all their products (over 600), labels and literature are in compliance with all laws and regulations.

The manufacturer of “seasilver” has obviously been guilty of making blatant, exaggerated health claims for their product. The following is a response from Nature’s Sunshine regarding the product claims and labeling:

SUBJ: SEASILVER--- ANSWER FROM N.S.P

This is NSP's reply to a question regarding Seasilver sent to them. I hope this answers questions that many of you have asked either regarding this product or their claims.
From: April Nance, Product Manager, NSP Home Office
Your question regarding Seasilver was forwarded to me. We have been getting quite a few questions about this Seasilver product. I have several questions about some of the claims they are making, so we will be getting a bottle to evaluate in the labs. The first question I have about this product is why are there no amounts listed for the vitamins and minerals? There are two possibilities:
One is that they don't have more than 2% of the RDI’s for these and the other is that they are not in compliance with FDA labeling guidelines. Any vitamin or mineral that is included in a formula at more than 2% RDI is legally required to be listed on the label.

I have also read several false or inaccurate claims:
1. "Nutrients in pill form are only 10% absorbed." This is not accurate. Every nutrient has a different absorption rate, depending on when it is taken, what it is taken with, the condition of the individual's intestinal tract and many other factors.

2. "The reason is due to the high metallic content of these pills. Metallic minerals like oyster shells, carbonates, oxides and dolomites have the consistency of crushed up rocks, which our bodies were not designed to digest. Even pills listed as "natural" often have added fillers and coatings that inhibit absorption." This really makes no sense. "Metallic" refers to a class of elements (or minerals), not the type of salts in which they occur. A mineral is a mineral is a mineral! Yes, some forms may be slightly more easily absorbed than others, but to say "our bodies are not designed to digest these minerals" is completely false. Remember that NSP performs disintegration tests on all of our tablets to ensure that they will be broken down properly.

3. "There is NO comparison between Seasilver and the other so-called "colloidal mineral" products on the market which come from humic shale deposits, making the nutrients in these products inorganic and the metals into a metallic form, unsafe for human consumption." Absolutely false - the definition of humus is "material that makes up the organic component of the soil, being formed from decayed plant and animal remains...It has colloidal properties." NSP Colloidal Minerals come from a fulvic acid complex of naturally chelated (organic) trace minerals and is perfectly safe for human consumption.

4. "Seasilver is a 100% whole food(plant-based) nutritional supplement that OXYGENATES at the cellular level with an astounding 40% OXYGEN content!". This is also false. At 40% oxygen the liquid would effervesce once opened, much like a bottle of pop. Atmospheric oxygen being 21%, osmosis would come heavily into play and an equilibrium would be reached in a matter of hours. Unless this is consumed through a self-sealing straw that oxygen concentration would be gone within 1-2 days of opening, assuming the cap is replaced after each dose, just like a 2-liter bottle of pop loses its fizz. Not to mention that this is not a "natural" level of oxygen content. There is also no evidence the oral oxygen benefits the body in any way. In fact, it is probably more likely to induce oxidative stress in the stomach and increase belching and/or flatulence than benefit body oxygenation.
One product that contains everything you (everyone) could possibly need sounds too good to be true and indeed, this one is. They claim they have every known antioxidant - I don't see lycopene, lutein, alpha lipoic acid or several others. What exactly do they mean by "50 times more potent than kelp? More potent in what?

A superior program from NSP may include Mineral Chi Tonic, Proactazyme Plus, Berry Healthy or Cranberry/Buchu, Liquid Dulse and Super Supplemental or Mega Chel. I hope this will help in your challenges with this product. Please share this information with your group and let me know if you have any other questions.
Sincerely, April

 

Childhood vaccines contain doses of mercury that are in excess of the Federal Safety Guidelines, and evidence shows a link between these excessive doses of mercury, found in thimerosal-containing vaccines, and neurodevelopment disorders such as autism and speech disorders, as well as heart disease, according to a study.

Since the introduction of thimerosal to vaccines, rates of autism have drastically increased. In the mid-1980s, one in 2,500 children had autism compared with one in about 300 children in 1996--an increase of over 800 percent in 20 years.

Researchers say that thimerosal should be banned from all U.S. vaccines and hope such a ban would curb the epidemic of autism and speech disorders facing America.

The study found a two- to six-fold increased occurrence of neurodevelopment disorders after an additional 75- to 100-microgram dosage of mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines as compared to thimerosal-free vaccines.

To investigate, researchers analyzed the doses of mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines that children received from routine childhood immunizations. They also evaluated the incidence of rates of neurodevelopment disorders and heart disease following thimerosal-containing vaccines and thimerosal-free vaccines.

Additionally, researchers looked at data on children with various types of disabilities in comparison to the amount of mercury they received from thimerosal in their childhood vaccines.

Based on the results, which found thimerosal-containing vaccines to contain mercury in excess of Federal Safety Guidelines, researchers confirmed a link between thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines and neurodevelopment disorders and heart disease.

Journal American Physicians & Surgeons Spring 2003 (PDF)

It is nearly incomprehensible that the well-documented, toxic mercury is still in many vaccines, years after federal agencies have mandated that thimerosal be removed from the hepatitis vaccine.

Most people, physicians included, don't understand that the mercury preservative thimerosal is still used in most vaccines and is likely one of the major contributing factors to vaccine toxicity.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin. Injecting it into a child, whose nervous system is rapidly developing, could have terrible consequences.

To find out more about the vaccine issue, including how to protect your children from potential adverse effects, consider “The Danger of Vaccines, and How You Can Legally Avoid Them” audiotape. In August 2002, I hosted an important teleconference featuring nationally renowned vaccine expert, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, to discuss the real dangers of vaccines and how you can legally avoid them. This professionally recorded 90-minute cassette presents that full conference, and many listeners have called it the most comprehensive overview of the topic to date.
It will help you:

Understand why vaccines are essentially loaded guns aimed at your child's body

Find out how you can disarm your school nurses by legally avoiding vaccines

Learn what approaches you can take to immunize your child against disease safely--and for life.

Dell Home / Home Office Storefront