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Product Recalls

'Nano silver' product falsely branded as COVID treatment recalled; same company made similar Ebola claims

A dietary supplement that federal officials said was falsely marketed as a treatment for COVID-19 is being recalled, according to a company announcement published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week, years after the producer received similar backlash for a purported Ebola treatment.

The recall of Natural Solutions Foundation's "Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver 10ppm" was initiated after the federal government found that the product's labeling and distributors made "unsubstantiated health claims that the product will prevent, treat, or cure COVID-19."

The government determined that consumers using this "nano silver" product, instead seeking proper medical care and treatment, could face serious and/or life-threatening health consequences, the recall notice said.

This isn't the first time that Natural Solutions Foundation and Rima Laibow, the company's medical director, have illegally distributed unapproved drugs, a complaint filed by the federal government in 2020 said.

Natural Solutions Foundations, Laibow and the company's vice president of legal affairs Ralph Fucetola have previously distributed "nano silver" products with claims of curing or preventing other outbreaks – including the Ebola epidemic in the mid-2010s, according to the complaint.

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Feds in 2021: Stop distributing 'nano silver' product

In December 2021, a federal court ordered Natural Solutions Foundation, along with trustees Fucetola and Laibow, to stop the distributing the unapproved and misbranded "nano silver" product.

"Marketing unproven products as treatments for COVID-19 endangers public health and violates the law," Brian M. Boynton, the current Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a DOJ release at the time. "The department will work closely with the FDA to stop anyone attempting to take advantage of the pandemic by selling unapproved, misbranded drugs."

Natural Solutions Foundation's "Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver 10ppm."

In a November 2020 complaint, the United States alleged that Natural Solutions Foundation, Fucetola and Laibow violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by distributing the unapproved product, which allegedly contained silver particles in a solution.

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According to the complaint, "nano silver is not generally recognized by qualified experts as safe and effective to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19, and that the defendants’ claims were not supported by credible scientific evidence or studies," the DOJ wrote.

Natural Solutions Foundation ordered to destroy products, initiate recall

According to the DOJ's December 2021 release, the defendants agreed to settle the lawsuit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The order required the defendants to destroy all of the "nano silver" products – and initiate a recall.

This week's recall notice urges distributors to check their inventory to see if they posses the recalled product, immediately stop distribution and notify customers about the recall.

Within 22 days of the company announcement date, identified as March 7 on the FDA's website, unused portions of the product can be sent to Natural Solutions Foundation's Newton, New Jersey, address for a refund. More information can be found here.

"Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver 10ppm" was sold from January 2020 to December 2021, according to the recall notice.

USA TODAY reached out to the company's listed recall contact for statement Thursday.

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Company tried to push Ebola treatment in 2014

Laibow and Natural Solutions Foundation previously came under fire in 2014, when the company was among those that received warnings from the FDA and Federal Trade Commission for selling products that claimed to be treatments, solutions or therapies for Ebola.

Laibow similarly advertised a "nano silver" product – and stood by it  following the FDA and FTC's letter.

According to the 2020 complaint filed against Natural Solutions Foundation, at the time of the 2014 warning letter, the defendants stated on their website that nano silver "was known ... as the definitive antiviral agent against Ebola virus."

As of September 2020, the defendants were still making claims about nano silver and Ebola on their website, the complaint said.

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