Why Did It Take a Pandemic for the FDA to Crack Down on a Bogus Bleach 'Miracle' Cure? Update: On July 8, natural brain health supplement the federal authorities filed a criminal complaint in opposition to members of the family behind Florida-based Genesis II Church of cognitive health supplement and Healing. The charges are related to Genesis' lengthy-working effort to promote a bogus bleach "miracle" product as a cure for most cancers, autism, Alzheimer's, and, extra just lately, COVID-19. The product, referred to as Miracle Mineral Solution, natural brain health supplement was a profitable business for the household, according to the federal government's filings. Genesis had bought tens of hundreds of bottles of MMS, in line with the filing, and between April and December of 2019, it obtained an average of roughly $32,000 per 30 days in related gross sales. But in March 2020, once they started promoting it as a cure for COVID-19, they netted roughly $123,000. If convicted, the defendants will doubtless face up to 14-17.5 years in prison, the federal government says in the filing. When federal authorities filed a lawsuit on April 16 to cease an organization from promoting a bleach-like resolution as a "miracle" cure for COVID-19, they described the move as a quick response to protect consumers from illegal and potentially dangerous merchandise.

"Americans count on and deserve proven medical treatments and today’s action is a forceful reminder that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will use its legal authorities to rapidly stop these who have confirmed to constantly threaten the well being of the American public," FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D., stated in a press release saying the suit. However the agency’s action wasn’t as swift as Hahn made it out to be, in accordance with a Consumer Reports overview of FDA filings, courtroom information, and paperwork obtained via the freedom of information Act. The corporate-which known as Genesis II Church of natural brain health supplement and Healing, though it’s not acknowledged by the federal government as a religious establishment-obtained the FDA’s consideration for marketing a "cure-all" treatment known as Miracle Mineral Solution, or MMS. The product, a liquid meant for drinking, comprises a mixture of sodium chlorite, a chemical compound used to make disinfectants, and citric acid. It has been on the FDA’s radar since at least 2008, long earlier than the coronavirus crisis erupted, and information show the company has been aware of Genesis’ relationship to MMS for years.

The mix of chemicals in MMS, the FDA says, creates chlorine dioxide at levels equivalent to that found in industrial bleach. The FDA has issued several warnings in regards to the potential dangers of drinking MMS since a minimum of 2010. Adverse event reviews filed with the agency by consumers and healthcare professionals have linked the ingestion of MMS to serious well being issues, including acute liver failure and even demise. Those studies don’t prove that a product triggered an damage, however the FDA makes use of them to research potential risks. The timing of the government’s motion is sensible, consultants say, natural brain health supplement given the concern that some consumers, fearful concerning the coronavirus pandemic, may be especially inclined to bogus claims of miracle cures. That concern took on new urgency in recent weeks, after President Donald Trump instructed in April that injecting disinfectants could be a approach to fight the virus. Genesis claims that in addition to curing COVID-19, MMS cures many diseases and disorders, together with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and mind cancer, in keeping with the FDA swimsuit.

Its chief advocate is Genesis’ founder, Jim Humble, who has inspired supporters and purveyors of MMS around the globe. While Genesis has sold MMS, it additionally supplies info on learn how to make the product at residence and better concentration daily how to purchase it from Genesis’ authorized distributors, and generally hosts seminars on how to use it. For more than a decade, the product has periodically been the topic of destructive information coverage. Yet despite that media consideration, the FDA’s own warnings about MMS, and the truth that the company once blocked Genesis from importing MMS products produced elsewhere into the U.S., it took a pandemic for the agency to finally clamp down on Genesis itself. The FDA tells CR that it’s the agency’s normal follow to offer a company the opportunity to voluntarily right compliance points, nootropic brain supplement booster brain support supplement usually by issuing a warning letter, earlier than launching an enforcement motion. The law governing how the FDA polices supplements sharply limits the agency’s energy, says Peter Lurie, M.D., a former associate commissioner for public well being strategy and evaluation at the FDA and now president of the middle for Science in the public Interest, a consumer advocacy group.

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Pub: 21 Sep 2025 13:23 UTC

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