Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 09/14/04

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Chief Deputy Larry Scoufos Deputy District Attorney: Matthew Cheever

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

CALIFORNIA DISTRICT ATTORNEYS REACH $250,000 SETTLEMENT OF MISLEADING ADVERTISING AND PROPOSITION 65 CASE WITH DIETARY SUPPLEMENT MANUFACTURER NATROL, INC.

Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua, Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein, and Solano County District Attorney David W. Paulson, announced a $250,000 settlement against Natrol, Inc., of Chatsworth, California, and its president Elliott Balbert. The defendants were charged in civil lawsuits filed by the district attorneys with making false and misleading advertising claims for their chitosan-based weight loss products, and with selling weight loss products that contained too much lead, in excess of that allowed by Proposition 65.

Natrol, Inc., manufactures and markets herbal teas, nutraceutical ingredients, sports nutrition products and dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, and hormonal supplements, primarily under its Natrol brand. Starting in 1998, it marketed Absorbitol Fat Binder, making claims that the chitosan ingredient in the product would cause the user to lose weight because it was a fat absorber, that it could bind "178% more fat than other brands" and it could bind 10.8 ml of fat "per gram of active ingredient". In 2001, it introduced three new chitosan-based products: Chitosan 500 mg, Ultra Chitosan Fat Intercept and Ultra Chitosan Fat Intercept Plus, making similar fat binding claims for each of these products.

An investigation found that there is no valid scientific evidence to support claims that the ingestion of chitosan causes fat to be "trapped" or "bound" in the human G.I. tract, or that the use of chitosan-based dietary supplements causes any significant or noticeable weight loss results. The investigation also revealed that three of the products, Chitosan 500 mg, Ultra Chitosan Fat Intercept and Ultra Chitosan Fat Intercept Plus, contained lead in amounts that exceeded the 0.5 microgram daily limit allowed by Proposition 65.

Under the stipulated judgment, filed in Napa County Superior Court, defendants are fined $220,000 and will pay costs of $30,000. The judgment also imposes numerous requirements and prohibitions on Natrol and Balbert. Specifically, defendants are prohibited from making any fat binding or weight loss claims about any chitosan-based product until they first possess valid scientific evidence to support such claims. In addition, they are ordered to provide clear and conspicuous Proposition 65 warnings for any chitosan-based products marketed in the future that expose the user to more than the 0.5 microgram daily limit allowed by Proposition 65.

Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan R. Passalacqua stated: " I am proud of the efforts of our Environmental and Consumer Law Division, which, in conjunction with other District Attorney offices throughout the state, are working to protect the health and safety of our citizens."