Disney, Marvel Hero Vitamin Marketers Agree To Pay $2.1 Million In Refunds

Major marketers of children’s vitamins have agreed to stop making false and unproven claims about their supplements and will refund $2.1 million to buyers, the Federal Trade Commission announced. NBTY, Inc., and two subsidiaries, NatureSmart LLC and Rexall Sundown, Inc., made deceptive claims about the amount of omega-3 fatty acid DHA contained in their Disney- and Marvel Heroes-licensed children’s multivitamin gummies and tablets. The FTC said the companies also made unsupported claims that a daily serving of the products promotes healthy brain and eye development in children. The settlement bars the companies from further misrepresentations of ingredients and health benefits. Product packaging and print ads promoting the vitamins said the products contained DHA, but actually contained only a trace amount. The FTC will administer the $2.1 million refund program.