National Advertising Division Recommends Oral Essentials Discontinue "Certified Non-Toxic" Claim for its Lumineux Mouthwash
New York, NY – December 30, 2024 – In a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge brought by GuruNanda, LLC, BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division recommended that Oral Essentials, Inc. discontinue its claim that Lumineux mouthwash products are “Certified Non-Toxic.”
Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited process for single-issue advertising cases reviewed by the National Advertising Division (NAD). Oral Essentials and GuruNanda compete in the mouthwash category of the oral health market.
Oral Essentials’ Lumineux mouthwash label on the front of the packaging states it is "Certified Non-Toxic," and a logo stating "MADE SAFE" appears on the back of the packaging. In support of the “Certified Non-Toxic” claim, Oral Essentials submitted two cytotoxicity studies (one for its sensitivity mouthwash and one for its whitening mouthwash) and a certification statement from MADE SAFE, a third-party certification program that verifies ingredient safety and non-toxicity. Oral Essentials mouthwashes were certified by MADE SAFE at the time of manufacture.
Strong evidence is needed for non-toxic claims due to potential health and environmental risks as well as the potential for consumers to misuse the product or take away a broader message about the product’s safety that is not supported by the claim.
NAD found Oral Essentials’ cytotoxicity studies did not support the challenged claims as such studies do not reflect the real-world effects on humans and only address one form of toxicity. Additionally, the study formulations contained one less ingredient and differed from the current product ingredients.
Further, NAD found that the MADE SAFE certification did not support the challenged claim because it was unclear from the record what real-world considerations the certification process took into account, and because the certification expired in October 2024.
Therefore, NAD concluded that Oral Essentials did not support its “Certified Non-Toxic” claim and recommended that the claim be discontinued. Nothing in this decision prevents Oral Essentials from making qualified “non-toxic” claims that clearly and conspicuously disclose the nature of health risks from product misuse.
In its advertiser statement Oral Essentials stated that it will “follow NAD’s recommendations and is completing annual review of its MADE SAFE certification.”
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