FDA and FTC crack down on fake coronavirus cures, warning 7 companies selling teas, essential oils, and colloidal silver the government is 'prepared to take enforcement actions'

• The US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission issued warning letters to seven companies on Monday for selling products that fraudulently claim to prevent or treat the coronavirus.
• FTC chairman Joe Simons said in a statement that it is "prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam."
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The US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission are intervening to stop the sale of fraudulent products making false claims to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

The organizations sent letters to seven companies selling "unapproved drugs that pose significant risks to patient health and violate federal law," according to an FDA press release on Monday. Specifically, the letters cite the sales of teas, essential oils, tinctures, and colloidal silver that have been falsely marketed for use against coronavirus.

The companies - which include Vital Silver, Quinessence Aromatherapy, Xephyr (selling under the name N-Ergetics), GuruNanda, Vivify Holistic Clinic, Herbal Amy LLC, and The Jim Bakker Show - will have 48 hours to respond to the FDA and FTC with plans to mitigate their violations.

FTC chairman Joe Simons said in a statement that it is "prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam."

"There already is a high level of anxiety over the potential spread of coronavirus," Simons said in a statement. "What we don't need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims."

The warnings come on the same day that the Consumer Brands Association sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr urging him to crack down on third-party price gouging of items like hand sanitizer and masks. On Amazon, individual bottles of Purell hand sanitizer were selling for more than $100 in several postings last week.

In regard to the possibility of an uptick of more fraudulent products, the FDA said it is thoroughly monitoring marketplaces to prevent the sale of such false treatments.

"The FDA considers the sale and promotion of fraudulent COVID-19 products to be a threat to the public health," FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. said a statement. "We have an aggressive surveillance program that routinely monitors online sources for health fraud products, especially during a significant public health issue such as this one."

Additionally, the FTC and FDA reiterated that there are currently no vaccines or drugs approved to treat the virus at this time, and warned consumers to avoid any products that claim to do so.

"Products that claim to cure, mitigate, treat, diagnose or prevent disease, but are not proven safe and effective for those purposes, defraud consumers of money and can place consumers at risk for serious harm," the FDA said in a press statement. "Using these products may lead to delays in getting proper diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 and other potentially serious diseases and conditions."