ATLANTA — An Atlanta-based attorney has filed a federal lawsuit against a popular supplement company after he received complaints from numerous people with concerns that the product is not the miracle substance the company says it is, and after independent lab results confirmed his fears.
Matt Wetherington says he’s suing the Canadian-based company BlackOxygen Organics on behalf of Georgia customers and anyone else in the country who purchased the company’s pills and powders.
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“We begin to receive inquiries and calls on our website with people having problems and issues,” said Wetherington. “Ultimately, we sent the products out for independent testing, and then when that came back and showed that there were toxic heavy metals at an unsafe level, that’s when we knew we had to act.”
According to the complaint, the supplements at issue contain dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals that render them unsafe and unfit for their intended use.
“They want you to eat it. They want you to bathe in it. They want you to give it to your children, and they want you to eat it while you’re nursing and pregnant,” he added. “They say it’s a ‘cure-all’ for all kinds of health issues, but they’re marketing to vulnerable people who already have health problems.”
“At the end of the day, this product is literally dirt,” he added.
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On its website, BlackOxygen Organics, or “BOO,” describes its process, writing that it starts with extracting the mud from a bog that is rich in fulvic acid, then they dry it and distribute it to their sales reps who sell the pills and powders to their customers.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to the company for comment, but our calls and emails haven’t been returned.
In the meantime, former customers, like Amy Roberts, who is not a plaintiff on the lawsuit, are warning others about their awful experiences.
The 50-year-old self-proclaimed fitness guru says she was looking for something to take away her shoulder pain, but after using the products for four weeks, she found herself in even worse pain.
“Severe, severe stomach pains,” she said. “I was doubled over in bed. I had extreme fatigue and was also vomiting.”
Right now, there are no active recalls in the U.S., but in September, Canadian health officials issued a recall, claiming “these products are being marketed as fulvic acid supplement(s); however, this use and the quantity of fulvic acid provided by these products has not been evaluated or authorized by Health Canada.”
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“This is about money. This is about greed. This is about selling literal dirt that you found in a bog to try and get as much money as quickly as possible,” Roberts said.
BlackOxygen Organics released a statement on Sunday that reads:
BlackOxygen Organics (”BlackOxygen”) has recently been made aware of a lawsuit brought by a Georgia attorney and his clients who are attempting to file a class action lawsuit by falsely claiming that certain BlackOxygen products contain “unsafe levels” of “toxic heavy metals.” The allegations in the lawsuit are entirely false and appear to arise from false and defamatory statements published on social media platforms by disgruntled former BlackOxygen Brand Partners. Notably, the lawsuit fails to state the level of metals purportedly detected in BlackOxygen products, nor does the lawsuit provide any description of the manner in which the products are purportedly tested by the plaintiffs or their attorney. Metals, like other naturally occurring elements, are present in drinking water and many foods that are consumed daily. Prior to the sale of any product, BlackOxygen receives a Certificate of Analysis from the manufacturer certifying that the raw materials used to manufacture BlackOxygen products are completely safe for human consumption. BlackOxygen believes that the lawsuit is a “nuisance” action seeking to obtain a monetary settlement prior to litigating the merits of the allegations in the lawsuit. BlackOxygen has engaged legal counsel and it intends to vigorously contest the false allegations and, if appropriate, assert claims for damages against the responsible parties for defamation and damage to BlackOxygen’s reputation. BlackOxygen is confident that it will prevail by presenting the true facts about BlackOxygen products and by proving that the allegations in the lawsuit are false and malicious.
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