Baker's Best is FDA-warned for non-allowed health claims.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, didn’t say what, if anything, encouraged it to take a closer look at Baker’s Best Health Products but we know from the agency’s formal warning letter to company president Jeffery Baker and vice-president Kim Gasior that a closer look is just what it got.

From the FDA’s letter, which was only recently made public, we learn that inspectors spent several days in mid-December at the company’s facility in Wixom, Michigan. While there, they collected samples of labels and marketing materials. Agents also spent some time at the company’s website, BakersBestHealth.com.

The way Baker and Gasior were marketing 4 products in particular drew the agency’s ire. Those products were:

• Colon Formula
• Eterni-D
• Triple Action Joint Formula
• Apple Cider Vinegar+

Archived screenshot of Baker’s Best website showing the gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea claim FDA specifically called out in its warning letter.

As far as “significant violations”, as FDA puts it, go, the claims Baker’s Best were making are pretty tame. They’re certainly nothing we haven’t already seen a dozen times before. Even the company’s use of a “ginseng” that isn’t technically a true ginseng hardly deserves to be lumped in with the outrageous violations and promises of near miracles we’ve seen from other, similar herbal companies.

Baker’s Best Health Products, Jeffery Baker and Kim Gasior were given the normal 15 working days to respond.

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A new study from Africa looks at herbal fly repellents like tickweed, peppermint and lemongrass.

New research from Uganda will not revolutionize the way we fight houseflies but it does strengthen science’s understanding of how (and why) certain plants are used to protect food from the nasty little insects.

For this study, researchers asked 372 people in 9 villages in Budondo Subcounty about the use of herbs as fly repellent. Fewer than a quarter, or around 24.5%, had any knowledge of such use at all. But those who did offered up a variety of solutions.

Eucalyptus globulus is one of the plants burned to create a natural fly repellent in parts of Uganda.

In all, 8 plants were mentioned, most of them repeatedly. They were:

• Cupressus sempervirens, or Mediterranean cypress
• Lantana camara, or tickberry
• Eucalyptus globulus, or bluegum
• Carica papaya, or papaya
• Cymbopogon citratus, or lemongrass
• Mentha × piperita, or peppermint
• Azadirachta indica, or neem
• Ocimum kilimandscharicum, or camphor basil

The most common were Mediterranean cypress, mentioned by nearly 17% of herb-knowledgeable participants, and tickberry, which was mentioned by just over 16% of them.

For all the fly repelling plants, the leaves were the most often used part. Burning to create smoke was the preferred application method.

Cupressus sempervirens, or Mediterranean cypress, is the most commonly cited natural fly repellent in this study.

Why This Study Is Important

This research is important for two reasons, say its authors, because it gives deeper insight into how people use plants to protect their food from fly-borne pathogens and it gives researchers a place to start when it comes to understanding the potential health risks associated with burning certain plants or bringing certain plants into direct contact with food.

These flies do not bite but they are capable of causing or spreading more than 100 diseases to humans. Those diseases come from bacteria, viruses, protozoa and helminths. Worldwide, six million cases of childhood blindness are caused every year by pathogens spread by flies.

Photo of Lantana camara, commonly called tickweed, by Fan Wen.

The use of repellents is especially important in developing nations like Uganda, say these researchers, because sanitation is poor and accessing medical care can be difficult. “Natural” fly repellents like the ones identified in this study are cheaper, more widely available and, possibly, safer than chemical sprays.

The study was published last week at the website for Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine.

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Photo Credits: Forest Starr & Kim Starr, [Unknown], Fan Wen

Fake naturopath Isabel Gervais gets 6 years for identity theft, wire fraud and making false statements.

2017 photo of “naturopath” Isabell Gervais from Shelby County Sheriff’s Office

Just over a year ago we brought you the story of Isabel Gervais, who stood accused of defrauding some very ill people, including cancer patients, with her ridiculous claims of treating them with “naturopathic” medicine. Gervais used multiple aliases in at least 4 states to further her lies.

But on Tuesday, some of Gervais’ victims saw at least a little bit of justice served when U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala sentenced Gervais to 75 months in federal prison for one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of making false statements. Prosecutors claimed she stole one patient’s identity to charge the patient’s credit card without consent and used another patient’s identity to set up a post office box.

In addition to serving 6 years in prison, Gervais will forfeit more than $100,000 deemed to be proceeds of her illegal actions. She pleaded guilty to the charges back in July of 2017.

Isabel Gervais also “practiced” under the aliases Rose Starr and Debra Lynn Goodman. Clinics she is known to have operated under those names (and others) include:

• Euro Med Klinic in Hoover, Alabama
• Sagewood Medical Clinic in Montgomery, Alabama
• Sagewood Medical Clinic in Springdale, Arkansas
• Chiron Clinic in Marietta, Georgia
• DRI Enterprises in Atlanta, Georgia
• Ascension Medical Health in Arkansas (various locations)
• AMHC in Leawood, Kansas

At no point, say prosecutors, has Gervais ever been a licensed physician in any state. Nor did she possess the equipment needed to run some of the medical tests she claimed to be running for patients.

And although she has faced legal repercussions before–sometimes abandoning her rental properties and assuming new aliases in the process–this is the first time Isabel Gervais has faced serious prison time.

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The Consumer Product Safety commission, or CPSC, has announced that coffee company illy is recalling some of its Whole Bean Coffee because of a potential injury risk. The problem, says the agency, […]

The Consumer Product Safety commission, or CPSC, has announced that coffee company illy is recalling some of its Whole Bean Coffee because of a potential injury risk. The problem, says the agency, is that cans without air vents on the bottom can develop so much pressure that when a user tries to remove the lid, it can come off  “suddenly with force” and injure the consumer.

The press release about the recall did not say whether the cans were mistakenly manufactured without vent holes, or if they were just never intended to have them at all. But we do know that neither the company nor CPSC has logged any reports of any actual injuries.

Covered in this recall are 250 gram (8.8 ounce) cans. The exact products being recalled are:

• Whole Bean Medium Roast with best-by dates 10/2019, 11/2019, or 12/2019
•  Whole Bean Dark Roast with best-by dates 10/2019 or 11/2019
• Whole Bean Decaf with best-by date 10/2019

You can find your coffee’s best-by code by turning the can over and looking for a date printed on the bottom.

In this CPSC-provided photo, you can see an example of the date code placement and the difference between cans with vents and cans without.

If you find a can that is affected by this recall you should not attempt to open it, says CPSC. Instead, contact illy for a replacement container. Illy’s toll-free number is 855-282-4682.

Stores known to have carried the coffee include Bed Bath & Beyond, Kroger, Shoprite, Sur La Table, Target, Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma, Amazon.com and Jet.com.

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Naturopath and chiropractor Matt Tellez has his license suspended for sex with patient.

Washington State Department of Health announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement with chiropractor and naturopathic physician Matthew Tellez that will result in a 6 month suspension of his credentials and, if he wishes to resume his practice,  a 2 year probationary period and his taking a boundaries and ethics course. Tellez allegedly engaged in sex with a patient.

Statement Of Charges Against Matt Tellez

Prior to  the suspension, Tellez had been licensed as a chiropractor since 1999 and as a naturopathic physician since 2003. Over a ten year period, he treated the patient an estimated 62 times for an undisclosed issue. Shortly after the final treatment, the sexual contact occurred.

The alleged sexual relationship violated the terms of both his naturopathic license and his chiropractic license.

Should Tellez wish to seek reinstatement, he will have to pay a $5,000 fine in addition to agreeing to the probationary period.

Tellez’s website says he is “on sabbatical” and will return in November.

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Get The Tea gets an FDA warning letter for detox and other claims.

The U.S. Food and Drug administration, or FDA, has made public its formal warning letter to Ronald McMullen and his company, Get The Tea. The letter was apparently prompted by “significant violations” of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act that agents say they uncovered during a September 2017 inspection and a later online inspection of the company’s website.

Many of the alleged violations came in the form of healing claims attached to specific products. Other non-allowed claims were made in customer testimonials. The list of products cited in the warning included:

• Allicin Advanced
• Ceylon Cinnamon
• Life Change Power Cleanse
• Life Change Tea (Super Strength and Regular Strength)
• Eighth Element
• G.I. Joy
• Wild Alaska Sockeye Omegas
• Hawthorn Berry Syrup
• PotentSea Marine Aminos
• Ocean Sleep
• Tea Tree Lavender Balm
• Wildflower West Sun Damage Serum

Get The Tea’s Life Change Super Tea, for example, promised to help people with nausea, constipation, acid reflux and indigestion. It also promised to “detoxify” parasites, bacteria and toxins:

Get The Tea’s FDA-warned Life Change Tea promised help with nausea, constipation, acid reflux and more. Screenshot by Lisa Barger.

Many of those claims were bolstered by the use of customer testimonials, which, when used to promote products, are also considered marketing spiel:

Some of the testimonials FDA found troublesome at Get The Tea. Published customer testimonials are, of course, in the eyes of the FDA, just more marketing verbiage.

These claims, and similar claims made for other products, go beyond what FDA allows  dietary supplements and herbal teas to make.  And that, says the agency, makes these products “new drugs”.

The products are further misbranded, says the agency, because they are promoted for serious medical issues the average person cannot accurately self-diagnose or self-treat without a doctor’s input.

Get The Tea was also warned for the way it labeled some of its products.

Ron McMullen and Get The Tea were given the normal 15 working days to address the FDA’s concerns. As of my last check this morning it appeared that the allegedly illegal health claims had already been scrubbed from GetTheTea.com.

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