Prosecutors from 10 California counties — including six in the Bay Area — have won a bid to halt the sale of weight-loss products that don't live up to their "drop pounds quickly" online ad claims.
Obtaining a preliminary injunction against Florida-based Breakthrough Engineered Nutrition Inc. to stop California sales of products advertised as containing a dietary supplement made from parts of the Hoodia gordonii plant were prosecutors in Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano and Sonoma counties.
Some products containing the supplement may have been sold in local health food shops or drugstores, but it's more than likely they were bought online, Solano County Deputy District Attorney Diane Taira said.
Numerous products containing the supplement either did not contain parts of the plant, or were not including the amount of Hoodia gordonii listed on the label, authorities said. The products claimed to suppress the appetite and help people lose weight, Taira said.