Okuma Nutritionals Participates In ERSP Forum

New York, NY – October 11, 2006 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) has recommended  that Okuma Nutritionals, LLC (Okuma), marketers of the Wu-Long Slimming Tea (Wu- Long), modify establishment, performance, testimonial, and comparative claims.

The marketer’s advertising was reviewed pursuant to ESRP’s monitoring program.

ERSP, the electronic direct-response  industry’s self-regulatory forum, is administered by the Council of Better  Business  Bureaus  (CBBB)  with  policy  oversight  by  the  National  Advertising Review Council (NARC).

ERSP reviewed core claims that include:

• “Legitimate scientific research …is now showing that an extraordinarily rare tea…may carry remarkable slimming and health benefits…”
• “…you’ll melt away pounds of stubborn fat in just 30 days…because those are the average results men and women experienced…”
• “Burns 2.5 times MORE calories than Authentic Green Tea…” “The World’s Most Powerful Fat Burner”
• “…I was already at a healthy weight. I have used Wu -Long for just 3 weeks now and have lost 10.5 lbs, 2 inches in my waist and 2 inches in my thighs and hips.”

Following its review of the evidence, ERSP recommended the marketer modify its advertising to either disclose that Wu-Long is a commercially available oolong tea or discontinue the claim that that Woo- Long tea is “rare.”

ERSP recommended that the marketer further specify the claim that  Wu-Long “…helps melt away body fat; boost energy; and even clarify skin …” by disclosing that the statement is based on historical information about the properties of oolong tea, rather than studies of oolong tea used at the dosage level recommended by Wu-Long.

ERSP recommended that the marketer reconcile the inconsistency between the statements “Burns 2.5 times MORE calories than Authentic Green Tea…” and “Burns 157% More Calories than Green Tea.” and be more specific regarding the source of these purported results.

ERSP was also concerned about the omission of language on the Website regarding the necessity of diet and exercise in achieving weight-loss goals and recommended which should be made conspicuously and in proximity to the main weight loss claims, and emphasized that any consumer testimonials must be accompanied by clear and conspicuous language indicating that “results vary” and that these results are “not typical