FDA considers Cherries a drug?

The FDA have sent a farmer a warning letter. Apparently he is violating drug laws.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reviewed the labeling of your cherry products on your website at www.seaquistorchards.com. This review shows serious violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) in the labeling of these products. You can find the Act and implementing regulations through links on FDA's Internet home page at www.fda.gov.

The labeling for your cherry containing products bears the following claims:

"[N.W.] … recently stopped taking drugs for arthritis pain not long after he began eating 50 tart cherries a day. … It was very dramatic. Within two days the pain was gone.…"

?Letter


These constitute drug labelling violations. They tried to ban vegemite now cherries. What is the world coming to?casewatch.org

mod edit: fixed link

[edit on 11-3-2007 by sanctum]

It's not the FDA that's claiming cherries are a drug, it's this guy!

He's claiming his cherries can cure diseases. He can't do that without FDA approval.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
It's not the FDA that's claiming cherries are a drug, it's this guy!

He's claiming his cherries can cure diseases. He can't do that without FDA approval.

My father has problems with the gout at times. He eats cherries when the symptoms start to appear and they help a lot.

The FDA is essentially saying that this guy can't say on his labels that his cherries cure things. To be able to say that, the cherries would have to go through years and years of trials and such.
And they aren't trying to ban cherries. They merely told this farmer that he couldn't say that on his label, cause it broke the law.

But yeah, that Vegemite thing was a bit over the top . . .

Yea, what watch_the_rocks said!

Besides, if any quack had the authority to claim some magical fruit cures arthritis then that really is fraud, and the FDA has to make sure everything goes thru a battery of tests to verify any claims.

Man, I had a really good post typed up for this thread last night and the internet hicupped and I lost it.
Anyway, I am pressed for time today so I will have to give you the abreviated version.
First off this guys makes no such claim of cure. He said it eased his pain.
If it was a cure he would say eat 50 tart cherries one time and never have arthritis again.
Do 50 tart cherries a day ease pain? Another poster says they work. Perhaps they do, who knows?
Maybe 50 tart cherries ease pain for half of all arthritis sufferers, but alas, if nobody is ever allowed to discuss the benefits they have gotten from natural cures then BIG PHARMA can keep selling you man made products.
What are the side effects from eating 50 tart cherries?
Constipation? Nausia?
What are the side effects from FDA approved arthritis medications?
Look it up, but I can tell you that FDA approved arthritis meds have killed people, lots of people, not to mention the potential for abuse.
What about cherries? ANybody ever overdose on cherries? Anybody ever experiance adverse side affects from cherry consumption? Liver damage?
Internal bleeding?
ANybody every abuse cherries?

Didnt the FDA also go after apple growers for the old axiom 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'?

I mean come on, who is the FDA protecting here in this case?
Are they saving us from the evil cherry growers?
Are they making sure nobody even tries the cherry remedy because cherries are dangerous?
Or are they afraid that if people think cherries can help they might not spend the 400$ a month on paxil and buy 40$ worth of cherries instead?

Do you guys really want to defend the FDA here?

Originally posted by 11Bravo
I mean come on, who is the FDA protecting here in this case?
Are they saving us from the evil cherry growers?
Are they making sure nobody even tries the cherry remedy because cherries are dangerous?
Or are they afraid that if people think cherries can help they might not spend the 400$ a month on paxil and buy 40$ worth of cherries instead?

Do you guys really want to defend the FDA here?

Hey, I'm with you bro -- that's why I posted this. I was quite surprised at the reaction myself.

I get the gout occasionally, and cherry juice really does make it go away. Only takes about 20 minutes, pain gone.
WTF does the FDA have to do with natural cherry juice? It just sux that the government has to get into our personal business like this.
I'm not selling cherry juice so I can say it will cure something, but if I was selling it I'd get in trouble..... it's just not right.

I get bouts of gout as well and I can attest that Cherry's do work wonders with controlling the symptoms. I don't need meds because of them Cherry's and they are good for me too, which cannot be said of the anti-inflammatory they wanted me to take...

Originally posted by Beer_Guy
I get the gout occasionally, and cherry juice really does make it go away. Only takes about 20 minutes, pain gone.
WTF does the FDA have to do with natural cherry juice? It just sux that the government has to get into our personal business like this.
I'm not selling cherry juice so I can say it will cure something, but if I was selling it I'd get in trouble..... it's just not right.

Actually I think the guy on TV that sells the book about natural cures got in trouble with the FDA, but I could be wrong.
I dont think the FDA even wants us discussing natural remedies.

Originally posted by sardion2000
I get bouts of gout as well and I can attest that Cherry's do work wonders with controlling the symptoms. I don't need meds because of them Cherry's and they are good for me too, which cannot be said of the anti-inflammatory they wanted me to take...

I didn't know that about cherries. I'll have to remember that. Cranberries also have some health benefits as well.

[edit on 13-3-2007 by jra]

Originally posted by 11Bravo
Actually I think the guy on TV that sells the book about natural cures got in trouble with the FDA, but I could be wrong.
I dont think the FDA even wants us discussing natural remedies.

If you're talking about Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About by Kevin Trudeau, then I must warn you that there a lot of things "he" doesnt want you to know about. He did not get in trouble with the FDA because he's giving away this magical free cure for everything out of good intentions from the bottom of his heart. He was convicted felon waaaaaaay before FDA ever heard about him. He has been arrested and sued for previous credit card frauds etc. But ofcourse he uses this discriminating evidence to further boost the sales of the book and cries victim. He claims this information is a tool used by the "evil govt" to defame his honest to goodness character. Ive read the book and all I can say is that there's nothing new that you cant google. Dont buy the book. Paypal me instead. The money will go to a good cause

[edit on 16-3-2007 by I_s_i_s]