Public warned vs water products with false therapeutic claims

MANILA, Philippines - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently warned the public against water products with false therapeutic or clinical claims that are being sold in the market by some unscrupulous companies.

The FDA said these water products with unvalidated claims have labels like “alkaline, ionized, pi, oxygenated or energized water.”

In an advisory, FDA director Dr. Suzette Lazo said therapeutic claims for the promotion and advertisements of water purification devices producing these products are not certified.

“It has come to the attention of the FDA that several companies manufacturing, importing or distributing water purification devices being sold in the Philippine market have been making unproven therapeutic/clinical claims for the promotion of advertisement of their products,” she said.

Lazo said these claims are “not validated” by FDA and “not supported by any certification issued by the Center for Device Regulation, Radiation Health and Research (CDRRHR) of the FDA.”

“These water products were never issued a Certificate of Health Related Device Registration. The list of companies that have been issued with certificate for their water purification devices by the CDRRHR is available at the website of the Department of Health - www.doh.gov.ph,” she added.

The unproven therapeutic claims advertised by these companies include: disease prevention and control, longevity, antioxidant, greater absorption of nutrients and other physiological or health benefits.

“Likewise, their flyers and brochures contain testimonials and anecdotal evidences lacking scientific or clinical studies associated with using their water product,” the advisory said.