Universal Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Universal Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd (Universal Pharmaceuticals) for alleged false or misleading representations made on its Wealthy Health website in contravention of sections 18, 29(1)(a), 29(1)(k) and 33 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA).

Universal Pharmaceuticals is a manufacturer and online retailer of vitamins and supplements. Universal Pharmaceuticals owns several distinct brands including Wealthy Health and offers products for sale through its brands’ respective websites and other third-party retailers.

The products offered by Universal Pharmaceuticals include squalene capsules, which contain oil extracted from the liver of deep-sea sharks.

The ACCC was concerned that between February 2021 and 21 October 2022, Universal Pharmaceuticals made statements on its Wealthy Health website, www.wealthyhealth.com.au, that its Wealthy Health Organic Squalene 1000mg with Vitamin E product was:

• “sustainably sourced from sharks from the crystal-clear oceans of Australia”; and
• “obtained from the clear oceans surrounding Australia”,

when in-fact, Universal Pharmaceuticals knew from at least 2019 that the squalene used in this product was not exclusively sourced from Australian waters.

As a result of the ACCC’s investigation and in response to the ACCC’s concerns, Universal Pharmaceuticals admitted that its conduct was likely to have contravened sections 18, 29(1)(a), 29(1)(k) and 33 of the ACL.

Universal Pharmaceuticals also provided the ACCC with section 87B undertakings that it will:

• not make representations that its products contain squalene from sharks sourced from Australian waters unless it has information to support such representations for a period of three years;
• publish a corrective advertisement on the Wealthy Health website within 30 days and maintain it there for a period of 90 days; and
• establish and implement an Australian Consumer Law Compliance Program for at least three years, which includes ACL training for staff and the development of a complaints handling system.