Herbal tea company said its product could treat COVID. Now, US government is suing

Federal agencies are suing the owner of a B4B Earth Tea, a New York-based company, for falsely advertising that their herbal tea could prevent or treat COVID-19.

The brand allegedly advertised on social media that Earth Tea is the “most effective [t]reatment against” COVID-19, that it “works within minutes” and will enable those who drink it to “get out of quarantine within 24 hours guaranteed,” federal authorities said in a news release.

On March 3, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Branch, together with the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration filed a civil enforcement action against the company and its owner, court documents show.

As early as April 2020, the brand began advertising Earth Tea to “prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure COVID-19,” officials wrote in the civil complaint. The brand sells the product, “Earth Tea” for $60 on its websites, advertising it as a more effective alternative than COVID-19 vaccines, according to the documents.

Authorities say the defendants lack “competent and reliable scientific bases for these claims.”

“Their use of deceptive advertising and misinformation, exploiting fears in the midst of a pandemic to sell their product to concerned consumers, poses a significant risk to public health and safety,” authorities said in the federal complaint.

When asked if the brand would keep selling its tea, B4B Earth Tea’s owner told McClatchy News that while he hasn’t “really read the full details, there should be no reason why we shouldn’t.”

“Our product is a natural drink like many products available. It happens that ours is effective and maybe someone from Big Pharma ha[s] an issue with it,” the owner said.

“It’s sad,” a video posted on Twitter by the brand on March 3 said. “But if we have to stop selling it in the U.S., we don’t mind doing that.” The company wrote that they “stand behind everything we say.”

B4B Earth Tea posted on Twitter on March 4 that it had stopped all advertising in the U.S.

While the brand said there is “reliable scientific research” that supports their claims, U.S. agencies said “at present, there is no published report of any well-controlled human clinical study to substantiate that Earth Tea can treat, prevent, or cure COVID-19,” according to court documents.

B4B Earth Tea said that its trial lasted six months and that they “didn’t make up anything.”

The study said it relied on 15 adults in India with “mild” cases of COVID-19, the complaint shows.

“Neither the purported anecdotal reports nor this small, unpublished study suffices as competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate the claimed health benefits,” the complaint says.

“Products like this may delay patients from seeking proven treatments from their health care provider. Preying on patients’ vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic is unacceptable,” Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D., FDA’s Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, said in the release.

In an Instagram post that was since deleted from the brand’s account, B4B Earth Tea wrote that “vaccines trial shows preventing hospitalization is 85%-96% while so far Earth Tea Extra Strength is 100%,” according to court documents.

The Federal Trade Commission warned the company multiple times that their “deceptive advertising and misrepresentations violate the FTC Act and the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act,” court documents show. Similarly, the Food and Drug Administration warned that Earth Tea is “an unapproved new drug,” which violates the FDCA.

Both agencies said they told B4B Earth Tea that “such conduct violates the law and may lead to legal action by the government.”

In Feb. 2021, the FDA and FTC wrote a joint letter to the brand’s owner advising him to “take immediate action to address the violations cited in this letter.”

In the letter, the FDA warned that the brand’s products are “unapproved and misbranded products that cannot be legally sold to consumers in the United States” and that “failure to immediately address this matter may result in legal action, including, without limitation, seizure and injunction.”

According to the complaint, B4B Earth Tea immediately removed their claims of Earth Tea against COVID-19 from their websites and all social media accounts. But by April 2021, the brand resumed advertising its products as cures for COVID-19.

On Feb. 24, B4B Earth Tea also claimed they were “almost certain Earth Tea Extra Strength is the Answer for #Cancer,” but that it needed a “few more confirmation to make that judgment.”

Additionally, as of March 4, the company’s website still links to the results of the clinical trial. However it does note that given the federal complaint, the tea may soon be unavailable for U.S. customers.

“The Department of Justice will not tolerate individuals or companies seeking to profit from the COVID-19 public health emergency by unlawfully advertising unproven products,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, said in the release.

This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Herbal tea company said its product could treat COVID. Now, US government is suing."