The Oregon Department of Justice (OR DOJ) has temporarily adopted a rule declaring it “unfair and deceptive” (and thus unlawful) to represent that any product “will prevent, treat, diagnose, mitigate, or cure coronavirus, COVID-19 or a related condition, without first having competent and reliable scientific evidence upon which to base a reasonable belief in the truth of the representation.” The temporary rule is effective for six months, until Oct. 14, 2020.

According to the Natural Products Association (NPA), Oregon’s temporary rule does nothing to protect public health by restricting health claims for nutritional supplements. Furthermore, the order places onerous requirements on retailers to compile “competent and reliable scientific evidence” that will confuse consumers, and raise costs for taxpayers.

“If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that nutritional supplements, such as vitamin C, that make health claims are an important element to supporting the healthy lifestyles of the American people,” said Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO, NPA. “Oregon’s order depletes tax-payer resources and is unnecessary. If Oregon regulators believe there is an abundance of products making fraudulent health claims, then we are happy to work with them to protect consumers. Federal regulators already prevent companies from making false or misleading claims about a product.”

Megan Olsen, vice president & associate general counsel, Council for Responsible Nutrition, agreed. “We share the DOJ’s concern for bad actors making false and fraudulent claims that take advantage of consumers especially during a public health crisis, but this regulation is not the answer.”