26775. Misbranding of  Parkelp.     U.   S.  v.   12  Packages   of  Parkelp.     Default
decree of condemnation and destruction. (F. & D. nos. 38288, 38289. 
Sample nos. 4936-C, 4937-C.)
This case involved a circular which contained false and fraudulent represen- 
tations regarding its curative or therapeutic effect.
On September 12, 1936, the United States attorney for the Eastern District 
of Missouri, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the 
district court a libel praying seizure and condemnation of 12 packages of 
Parkelp at St. Louis, Mo., alleging that the article had been shipped in inter- 
state commerce on or about March 19, 1936, by Philip R. Park, Inc., from 
Chicago, Ill., and that it was misbranded in violation of the Food and Drugs 
Act as amended.
Analysis of the article showed that it consisted essentially of plant material 
(chiefly kelp), yielding ash containing compounds of chlorine, potassium, 
sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and iodine.
The article was alleged to be misbranded in that the following statements 
regarding its curative or therapeutic effect, borne on a circular enclosed in the 
packages, were false and fraudulent: "Aids Digestion. If you suffer from 
weak stomachy indigestion or intestinal sluggishness due to lack of food min- 
erals, Parkelp will help you. Parkelp is Nature's Own concentrated Sea Food 
which provides in the diet these food minerals needed for the 'chemistry of 
digestion'." Thousands of people are now using Parkelp regularly because they 
have found that it solved their problem. Give Parkelp a fair trial (3 to 4 
weeks) and we are confident that you, too, will feel a new vigor, a new lease 
on life."
On October 28, 1936, .no claimant having appeared, judgment of condemna- 
tion was entered and it was ordered that the product be destroyed.
W. R. GREGG, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.