FDA says Nampa business sold unapproved COVID-19 treatments

NAMPA — A Nampa business has been added to a federal health fraud list for selling unapproved COVID-19 treatments.

Herbal Amy is one of seven companies the Food and Drug Administration, in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission, accused Monday of advertising "a product (that) can prevent, treat or cure human disease," such as COVID-19, as reported by The New York Times.

"There already is a high level of anxiety over the potential spread of coronavirus," FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in a statement Monday. "What we don’t need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims. These warning letters are just the first step. We’re prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam."

Herbal Amy's products cited in the FDA's letter to the company were a variety of herbal tinctures and teas, all of which claimed to help treat viral symptoms often associated with the coronavirus. The business is located at 12575 Anakate Lane in Nampa.

Underneath several products marketed as a "Coronavirus Kit" — which cost $155 and was currently out of stock — the company said it did "not claim to be able to cure the coronavirus. … There is currently no known cure, or even treatment for many bacterial and viral infections. You must Always seek medical attention if you think you might be ill," according to its website.

It is unknown if these same statements were listed prior to the FDA's warning. The federal agency gave Herbal Amy 48 hours to describe "the specific steps you have taken to correct these violations," or be subjected to legal action such as seizures or injunctions for the misbranded products.

Amy Weidner, the business's owner, told the Idaho Press Wednesday the problem wasn't the product itself. Instead, she said, officials took issue with a new quote she received from the herbalist who made the product.

"We got an administrative letter telling us that the quote on the protocol description … was not in compliance with their regulations and I had to remove it," Weidner said.

Weidner said she did remove the quote. She said the product has been on her website for two and a half years.

"The quote was new … because that quote had some verbiage in there that they didn't like, they went on and told me 'you better remove that,'" she said. "So I did. I'm just waiting for my letter saying I'm in compliance … This virus is not new, this protocol is not new."

"There currently are no vaccines, pills, potions, lotions, lozenges or other prescription or over-the-counter products available to treat or cure coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)," the FDA said in its letter to the Nampa company. "Thus, the claims cited above are not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. You must immediately cease making all such claims. In addition, you are advised to review all claims for your products and immediately cease making claims that are not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence."

On Monday, Weidner said in a blog post, "Herbal Amy Inc. at all times, strives to be compliant with the law and will continue to work with the FDA and the FTC to ensure compliance with the applicable laws and regulations."

"Because herbal products have not gone through the approval process by the FDA, they are very stringent on the wording we can use to describe our herbal products. We quoted a description from the inventor of this particular protocol, Stephen Buhner. He is considered one of the leading experts in herbal products and developed this formula called coronavirus protocol," Weidner said in the post. "The letter we received from the FDA was simply an administrative warning that we cannot make any claims concerning herbal products. We removed the passage containing Mr. Buhner's description of the products and are in order to be in compliance with all FDA requirements. The quality of the product was never in doubt and we continue to service clients nationwide."

Other companies warned by the FDA for similar products include Vital Silver, Quinessence Aromatherapy, Xephyr (N-Ergetics ), GuruNanda, Vivify Holistic Clinic and The Jim Bakker Show.

- Idaho Press Ada County public safety reporter Tommy Simmons contributed to this story