JOHANNESBURG – Slimming product producer Herbex says it stands by its testimonial advertising, despite the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) of South Africa having found its ads misleading. 

According to the ruling on the ASA’s website, Herbex told the authority it is “not a member of the ASA, will not submit to ASA’s jurisdiction and will not respond to the merits in the complaint”.

A consumer had complained that advertising by Herbex is misleading since “there is no objective evidence that the advertised product has any significant effect on weight loss, and even if such evidence existed, the testimonial is not representative for the majority of users of the advertised product”.

The ASA ruled on the matter purely for the guidance of its members since Herbex refused to submit any evidence.

It found that “the efficacy claims in the commercial are unsubstantiated”. 

Members of the ASA were instructed not to accept Herbex advertisements for publication.

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In a statement, Herbex subsequently said it stood by its testimonials. 

Eddie Bisset, managing director of Herbex holding company Newgroup Holdings, said the company’s many testimonials were “real and factual and supported by an affidavit signed by the featured customers”.

“The ASA has not been mandated by the former Medicines Control Council – now the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) – to assess the efficacy or safety of complementary medicines.

“Our products are carefully researched and formulated by industry professionals before going to market, and all manufacturers are GMP [Good Manufacturing Practice]  compliant and properly certificated,” Bisset said.

Herbex had submitted product information to the SAHPRA for registration as per a 2015 request, he said.

eNCA