ARE THE SEASILVER NEWS REPORTS ACCURATE...????

by Phil Zulli...


I think it is very important that distributors and customers hear all the facts regarding the FTC action against Seasilver.

Several newspapers and TV stations across the country have picked up the story. The reportage until today has been largely negative and often inaccurate and incomplete. Remember that bad news sells newspapers.

Some of the inaccuracies include statements of company earnings vs. gross sales, and confusing Seasilver with colloidal silver products, which contain inorganic metallic silver. One newspaper reported that Seasilver PILLS were seized. The reports of “sanitation problems at the company's production facility last year” fail to mention the new 36,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art manufacturing facility built this year. And before Seasilver has had its day in court, and before the company has been found guilty of anything, some newspapers are reporting it as health fraud !

Many of the inaccuracies are due to the inflammatory FTC press release issued on Thursday. In it, FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan is quoted as saying, "This is the sort of intolerable health fraud I had in mind when I announced six months ago that the FDA will take vigorous actions against firms that prey on consumers and patients by selling worthless dietary supplements as cures for serious and chronic diseases and conditions."

It is hard to understand how an FDA official can refer to organic aloe vera, sea vegetables, Pau D’Arco, and cranberry concentrate as a “worthless dietary supplement”. Anyone interested in the truth could do a simple internet search and in just a few minutes discover the acknowledged benefits of these ingredients. Or they could just ask some of the tens of thousands of satisfied customers how they feel about Seasilver’s benefits.

Healthcare professionals who regularly recommend appropriate nutritional supplements for their patients recognize these FDA tactics. It was very common ten years ago for supplements to be subjected to these kinds of attacks. That changed when the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, passed unanimously by the 103rd Congress on Jan. 24, 1994, found that “the importance of nutrition and the benefits of dietary supplements to health promotion and disease prevention have been documented increasingly in scientific studies; and that there is a link between the ingestion of certain nutrients or dietary supplements and the prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis.”, and that, “although the Federal Government should take swift action against products that are unsafe or adulterated, the Federal Government should not take any actions to impose unreasonable regulatory barriers limiting or slowing the flow of safe products and accurate information to consumers”.

It is my opinion, and the opinion of untold numbers of healthcare professionals, nutritionists, healthfood store owners, and experts who have studied the issue that pharmaceutical companies and other interests wield undo influence when it comes to regulatory activity. The FTC action, and FDA comments regarding Seasilver this week seem to indicate a return to pre-DSHEA era tactics to limit the sales of beneficial nutritional supplements. It was a strong public response that was responsible for DHEA being passed in the first place. I hope to see a similar public response to the latest regulatory abuses.

I would also add that it is my belief that some of the specific statements made by Seasilver in its literature and on distributor websites were not to the letter of the law. However, I do not believe that it was an attempt to misrepresent the benefits of the product. Instead, I believe that is was simply keeping pace with the general tone of claims and representations made in today’s marketplace. Many well-known companies have become a little lax in their strict adherence to the letter of the law regarding claims. And if you look at the really outrageous claims made for some of the poor quality nutritionals and health products on the internet, on TV shopping networks, and in direct mail pieces, you have to wonder why Seasilver was singled out and attacked so strongly.

As distributors, we know that Seasilver was in the process of voluntarily revising its product book and that the distributors responsible for the infomercials were in the final stages of producing new ones. So why the strong-arm tactics by FTC? My conclusion is this – Seasilver produces great results for the people who use it and its fast-growing popularity threatens certain business interests that have the ability to affect regulatory action. That is my opinion, having seen this type of thing happen frequently over the last 20 years.

As the news stories continued, they have become more fair and balanced. Today’s article in the North County Times, which serves the San Diego California region where Seasilver has its headquarters, reflects some of the popular support for Seasilver. The article states “Seasilver has its supporters. Many callers have told reporters that they were angry at the publicity of the last week because the dietary supplement, in their view, had worked wonders in their lives.”

The article talks about the layoff at the factory due to the FTC freezing the assets of the company, and quotes a representative from a local temp agency that supplies 200 customer service reps for the Seasilver company. “Seasilver paid its bills on time but the receiver appointed to take over the company's assets put a stop to that, she said.”

The article also reports, “Almost without exception, even when they say nothing else, employees express affection and admiration for the father-and-son team (Bela and Jason Berkes who run the company).”

For the complete news article, use this link - http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030620/60654.html

I am looking forward to next Thursday’s court date when Seasilver has its chance to defend itself against the charges. In the meantime, if you are a satisfied user of the product, I encourage you to write a short email about it. Don’t include any disease condition that may have improved during your use of the Seasilver product; just write that you are a satisfied Seasilver customer who enjoys using the product and that you want to make sure that you can buy it again quickly. Send the email to your congressman, to the FTC, to the FDA, and to your local newspaper. Send a copy to Seasilver! Use your rights as an American citizen to stand up for what you believe in. We are fortunate to have those rights. If you don’t express what you want, someone else may decide it for you.

Be sure to tell all of you customers and distributors about this issue. And when this is all over in a week or so, you can be proud that you showed your support. Soon, everyone will have the chance to hear about the true benefits of this remarkable nutritional supplement called Seasilver.

PHIL ZULLI