PUBLIC REFERENCE · CLAIM RULINGS

What a supplement can and cannot say.

30 rulings on the phrases brands ask about most. Each one answers a single question in a sentence, gives the rule it runs into, and hands you wording that holds. Drawn from the same 81-standard library every audit runs on.

RULINGS PUBLISHED
30
STANDARD FAMILIES
8
LISTINGS BEHIND THE COUNTS
1,149
§ 01 · WHAT THIS IS

A public reference, not the whole standard

Every ruling here is taken from the claim library our audits run on: 81 standards drawn from published FDA, FTC, Health Canada and marketplace rules. The severity, the reason and the rewrite are the same ones a paying client sees in their report. Nothing is softened for the public version.

This is a subset, chosen because these are the questions people actually ask. The full standard publishes with the verification directory. If the phrase you are checking is not here, that is not a pass: run it through the free check or read the standards and method.

DISEASE VERB

Verbs that describe acting on a disease. The shortest route from a supplement to an unapproved drug.

3 RULINGS
Can a supplement say “cures”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “treats”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “prevents”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
NAMED CONDITION

Naming the condition the product is for, however gently. The condition does the claiming.

7 RULINGS
Can a supplement say it is for anxiety?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “lowers blood pressure”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “lowers cholesterol”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “lowers blood sugar” or “for diabetes”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “heals leaky gut”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “treats insomnia”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say it is for menopause symptoms or hot flashes?
HIGH
READ THE RULING →
IMPLIED DRUG

Wording that describes a drug-like mechanism without naming a disease.

6 RULINGS
Can a supplement say “anti-inflammatory”?
HIGH
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “relieves pain”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “detox” or “cleanses toxins”?
HIGH
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “boosts immunity”?
HIGH
62 BRANDS FLAGGED
Can a supplement say “balances hormones”?
HIGH
50 BRANDS FLAGGED
Can a supplement say “normalizes” or “restores”?
HIGH
54 BRANDS FLAGGED
FALSE REGULATORY

Authority the product does not have, or approval that does not exist for supplements.

5 RULINGS
Can a supplement say “FDA approved”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “FDA registered”?
HIGH
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “clinically proven”?
HIGH
36 BRANDS FLAGGED
Can a supplement say “100% safe” or “no side effects”?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “GMP certified”?
MEDIUM
89 BRANDS FLAGGED
SUBSTANTIATION

Claims that may be fine to make and are not fine to make without evidence in hand.

5 RULINGS
Can a supplement say “best” or “most effective”?
MEDIUM
43 BRANDS FLAGGED
Can a supplement say “burns fat”?
HIGH
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement say “studies show”?
MEDIUM
39 BRANDS FLAGGED
Can a supplement say “all-natural”?
MEDIUM
32 BRANDS FLAGGED
Can a supplement say “non-habit forming”?
MEDIUM
44 BRANDS FLAGGED
PLATFORM POLICY

Where Amazon, Meta and Google enforce ahead of the regulators, including fields shoppers never see.

2 RULINGS
Can an Amazon supplement listing use disease keywords in the title or bullets?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
Can a supplement use disease terms in Amazon backend search keywords?
HIGH
READ THE RULING →
IMPLIED CLAIM

A claim carried by something other than the sentence: a product name, a testimonial, an affiliate post.

1 RULING
Can a supplement product name imply treatment?
CRITICAL
READ THE RULING →
STRUCTURAL

What has to be present, and how prominently, rather than what may not be said.

1 RULING
Does a supplement need the FDA disclaimer?
HIGH
92 BRANDS FLAGGED
CITE USThese rulings are free to quote. Credit “Claims Verified” and link to the ruling you used. Brand counts come from our own scan database and are explained on the research page.
AUDIT@CLAIMSVERIFIED.ORG →

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