KEY POINTS

  • Jim Bakker is among the seven individuals and companies that the FDA asked to stop misleading people about the products they promote
  • The FDA is expecting the companies and Bakker to resolve the issue within 48 hours
  • Bakker is also faced with a lawsuit from the Missouri attorney general's office due to his promotion of Silver Solution

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking its coronavirus battle against fake products to a higher level as the agency issued warning letters to seven companies in line with the issue.

According to NBC affiliate WCBD-TV, the FDA sent warnings letters to Jim Bakker and six other companies for selling products that claim to have curing abilities against the COVID-19 strain. The FDA warned that these fraudulent products may pose health threats for people who take them.

Among the products that the FDA has been keeping an eye on are colloidal silver, essential oils, tinctures and different teas. In particular, the agency is focused on removing products that claim treatment and curing powers against the novel virus.

The FDA is working with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in ensuring fake products are removed thoroughly from the market. Experts say the emergence of products claiming to cure coronavirus patients could delay the process of getting appropriate and more effective treatment.

Both the FTC and FDA are expecting an answer from the companies in question within 48 hours as well as the correction of misleading statements about their products.

Should companies refusing to fix the descriptions on their products, the items in question may be subject to seizure or injunction. Companies distributing the products may also face legal charges.

One of the products that the FDA and governments are questioning is “Silver Solution,” the product promoted during an episode of televangelist Jim Bakker’s show. The said episode was aired on February 12.

According to FOX News, Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt said on Tuesday that he filed a lawsuit against Bakker due to the product claiming to be a cure against the COVID-19 strain.

In the lawsuit, Bakker and Morningside Church Productions have been named as defendants after Sherill Sellman claimed during the February 12 episode that Silver Solution was tested on other coronavirus strains.

Bakker was the one who asked Sellman if the product can cure the COVID-19 strain and Sellman explained that the product has eliminated different coronavirus strains in 12 hours. “Totally eliminate it. Kills it. Deactivates it,” Sellman was quoted to have said.

New York attorney general Letitia James joined the calls for Bakker to stop promoting the product on his TV shows. She said in a cease and desist letter to the televangelist that the segment where Sellman guested in may “mislead consumers” on the effectivity of Silver Solution.

So far, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not announced a sure-kill cure against the COVID-19 strain. On the other hand, multiple pharmaceuticals are working on treatments that could help reduce the symptoms.

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