Marc Ching, a prominent Southern California animal rights advocate, has agreed to stop pitching an herbal supplement as a remedy for COVID-19.
, a purveyor of natural healing products for critters, with stores in Sherman Oaks and West Los Angeles.
Mitch Katz, an FTC spokesman, told me the settlement represents the agency’s “first formal law enforcement action” involving a purported COVID-19 treatment. The FTC’s agreement with Ching stipulates that he “has not admitted to liability” regarding the claims, and that the settlement isn’t an admission he “engaged in violations of the FTC Act or any law or regulation.”
Ching added that he and Whole Leaf Organics have cooperated with the FTC “in everything they have asked to make sure we are in full compliance.”It says that beginning in March, Whole Leaf Organics started claiming that a supplement called Thrive “treats, prevents or reduces the risk of COVID-19.” I asked Ching by email how this squares with his insistence to me that his company never said Thrive “can cure, treat or stop COVID-19.” He didn’t respond., is “formulated containing 16 hand-selected herbal extract strains,” and “offers immune support that may assist the body in promoting increased health.”
According to the FTC, “there are no competent and reliable human clinical trials ... to substantiate the advertised health claims for these products.”It’s unfortunate that Ching didn’t want to be interviewed because he’s clearly an interesting person. His foundation’s advocacy on behalf of animals goes back nearly a decade.
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