POM Wonderful, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission

POM Wonderful, LLC (POM) (defendant) made, marketed, and sold pomegranate-based products including pomegranate juice and dietary supplements. From 2004 to 2006, POM sponsored three scientific studies to examine the potential benefits of POM’s products with respect to cardiovascular disease. POM’s subsequent advertising materials touted only the positive results of one study without mentioning the contrary findings in the other two studies. POM’s advertising materials also included the results of a separate study linking pomegranate juice with increased blood flow to the heart without discussing the study’s known shortcomings or acknowledging that study participants showed no increase in blood flow on two of three tested measures. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (plaintiff) filed an administrative complaint based on 43 POM advertisements that allegedly included false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims in violation of section 5 of the FTC Act. At an administrative trial, an FTC administrative-law judge (ALJ) heard evidence that experts believed that disease-related claims like POM’s needed to be supported by properly randomized and controlled human clinical trials (RCTs). The ALJ ultimately found that 19 of POM’s advertisements contained unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of POM’s products on heart disease and other ailments and that those claims were material to consumers. The ALJ found that POM had violated the FTC Act and ordered POM to cease and desist from making any further claims about the products’ disease-related benefits unless those claims were supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence consisting of at least two RCTs. POM appealed.