Updated — 6:45 p.m. ET
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, BuzzFeed News reported that the FDA had sent warning letters to three American companies selling phony Ebola treatments, including the New Jersey-based firm Natural Solutions Foundation.
The medical director of Natural Solutions Foundation, Dr. Rima Laibow, made YouTube videos and wrote letters to world leaders promoting Nano Silver 10 product as the only definitive prevention and solution to cure the Ebola virus.
On Thursday, a Natural Solutions Foundation trustee told BuzzFeed News that the company plans to change its website's language to make it clear that it is not selling a cure for Ebola.
In a phone call with BuzzFeed News, Ralph Fucetola J.D., a trustee of Natural Solutions Foundation, said the company received the letter and was in the process of reviewing the website for violations listed by the FDA.
He said, "We are reviewing the website right now and changes will be coming very quickly. We are going to change our language to make it clear we are not offering a cure for Ebola."
Apart from changing the language, Fucetola said the company will be offering disclaimers and disclosures of its products on the website.
YouTube videos like the one titled "No one needs to die from Ebola" in which Laibow accuses the FDA and others of keeping the public in the dark about, what she calls, the only antiviral agent that could cure Ebola, will be removed and replaced, Fucetola said.
He said the company's intention was not to overstate any claims. "Our aim is to provide truthful information that does not deceive the public."
Fucetola, known as the Vitamin Lawyer, who is now retired, also invoked his "Fifth Amendment right" when asked why Laibow and the firm promoted the nutrient, Nano Silver 10, as the only cure for Ebola.
He also cited the Fifth Amendment in response to questions about whether the firm had approached Liberian and Nigerian authorities to use Nano Silver as an experimental drug on Ebola patients.
The firm will continue to market its nutrients, but "we absolutely do not intend to offer any product as though it was an FDA-approved drug," Fucetola said.
The company is planning to hire a lawyer and respond to the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission with a plan within 15 days, he said.
dōTERRA , a Utah-based company also warned by the FDA, told BuzzFeed News that they were working with their distributors to correct marketing materials promoting essential oils as a preventive measure for Ebola.
"We recognize essential oils have profound health benefits, but do not claim our products cure or treat diseases including the Ebola virus or any other disease," Peter Tidwell, dōTERRA's corporate communications manager, said in an email.
Referring to the FDA's letter which mentions paid consultants or distributors promoting dōTERRA's oils to prevent Ebola, Tidwell said the company is working closely with them to ensure they do not make drug claims in their marketing.
One such distributor, Candace Anderson, wrote a blog posts called "Fight Your Virus with Essential Oils" which listed the oregano essential oil as effective in fighting the Ebola virus on her website Anytime Essentials.
Anderson, who describes herself as a wife and mom, told BuzzFeed News that her website was taken down today. She said dōTERRA "absolutely did not pay me to promote their oils as a preventive measure for Ebola."
Her homepage now says:
"I am in the process of reworking some of my articles so that I am in full compliance with the FDA. :) I had been following a very well loved book that us doTERRA Wellness Advocates use, but unfortunately that wording isn't okay here on the Internet. So…things they are a changin' around here."
Tidwell said the company has contacted all their distributors who made similar fraudulent claims. "They have all corrected or are working to correct their marketing materials to ensure they are compliant with FDA and company regulations."