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Consumer Group, Health Experts Warn: Acai Berry Scam Deducts from Wallet, Not Waistline
By Hugh C. McBride
One of the nation’s leading consumer groups has issued a warning to would-be dieters regarding a scam that they say is more likely to reduce one’s bank account than one’s waistline. Though the most recent warning about acai berry is financial in nature, it comes on the heels of cautions expressed by medical experts regarding the product’s value as a weight-loss enhancer.
On Jan. 6, 2009, the Better Business Bureau issued a warning to consumers advising them to exercise caution when responding to online marketing pitches for acai berry and related products. The berry, which has been heavily promoted as a highly effective weight loss supplement, may be purchased from a variety of online and brick-and-mortar outlets – but the BBB reports that some of these sources regularly engage in less-than-savory business practices.
A Jan. 8 article on the ABC News website reported that dozens of companies that drew the attention of the BBB were engaged in what is known as “negative option marketing,” a disreputable technique in which consumers are offered free samples, then charged on a monthly basis unless they cancel their order.
“BBB can't speak to the restorative or weight loss properties of acai-based products, but we are taking companies to task for their misleading sales and marketing practices,” bureau spokesman Steve Cox said in a statement that was featured in the ABC News article.
“Many businesses across the country are using the same selling model for their acai products: They lure customers in with celebrity endorsements and free trial offers, and then lock them in by making it extremely difficult to cancel the automatic delivery of more acai products every month,” Cox said.
Due to the wide reach of Internet marketing plans, the acai berry scheme has ensnared individuals throughout the United States. To help raise awareness of the financial dangers associated with this product, BBB branches across the country are mobilizing to spread the word.
“Consumers are being charged unauthorized charges. They are also indicating that they are not receiving the products,” Warren King, president of the Pittsburgh Better Business Bureau, said in a Jan. 6, 2009 interview with KDKA reporter Yvonne Zanos. “We're also concerned about how they advertise the product. They indicate it's a free trial,” King said. “Well, if you have to pay for shipping and handling, well that's not free.”
The KDKA article also noted that one acai company, Central Coast Nutraceutical, has been sued by the attorney general of Arizona for “deceptive and misleading advertising and sales practices that resulted in thousands of consumers charged for products and services they did not order and many found it difficult if not impossible to cancel.”
In addition to shady business practices, acai marketers have also come under increased scrutiny for the claims they have attached to their “wonder juice.”
“Invariably, as is the case with these products, the hype gets way ahead of the science,” Dr. David Katz, associate clinical professor of public health and medicine at Yale University, told ABC News reporter Susan Donaldson James in a Dec. 12, 2008 article. “You get more bang for the buck by just eating more fruits and vegetables.”
Native to Central and Southern America, the acai berry is a grape-sized fruit that has experienced a dramatic increase in popularity and demand in recent years due to claims of its weight-loss properties. Though many varieties of the fruit are relatively rich in antioxidants (nutrients that have been associated with a range of health benefits), several experts have questioned the degree to which acai berry can help with weight loss.
As is the case with a number of fad diets and rapid weight loss schemes, many acai berry advertisements involve both unrealistic expectations and too-good-to-be-true results. And though the berry itself may possess health-promoting properties, relying on one type of food or any overly strict diet and exercise regimen is almost always a recipe for failure and frustration.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, whose name has allegedly been used without his consent to market acai berry, told Donaldson James that though the product does have health benefits, it offers no magical shortcuts to healthier weight.
“The best way to lose weight, according to Oz, is to avoid simple carbohydrates and incorporate the right nutrients into one's diet, lose that fat around the waist, exercise and add fruits, vegetables and fiber to the diet,” Donaldson James wrote.
Dr. Oz’s advice is consistent with the guidance that is offered by some of the nation’s most effective and highly respected weight loss programs. For example, the Structure House weight loss plan, which recently topped Health magazine’s list of “America’s Top 10 Healthiest Diets,” features a holistic approach that emphasizes mindfulness and structured eating and encourages overweight individuals to evaluate and adjust the role that food, exercise, and other aspects of healthy living play in their daily lives.
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