A South African consumers' guide to scams, pseudoscience and voodoo science, OR, a critical thinker's guide to the ins and outs of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Three complainants challenged whether the claim “YorkTest define Food Intolerance as a food-specific IgG reaction”, and the overall impression of both ads that the test would inform consumers if they had a food intolerance, was misleading and could be substantiated. Another complainant challenged whether the efficacy claims about migraines in both ads and depression in ad (b) were misleading and could be substantiated.
The UK ASA concluded the evidence was insufficient to support the claims.
Similar companies in South Africa make the same unfair claims, .e.g., ImuPro.
The IgG test, for ‘food intolerance, is being sold in South Africa by among other, ImuPro and Yorktest. As mentioned in other posts on CamCheck, the Allergy Society of South Africa, the American Academy of Allergy and the European counterparts, all state that there is no validity to this test. Yet they continue to be sold to the unsuspecting public.
This article describes this problematic test being marketed in Canada.
‘There is no validity’: Unproven blood tests for food sensitivity widely offered in Canada
More than 2 dozen health groups have warned about misuse, misinterpretation of IgG tests for food intolerance
ImuPro, a blood test offered by WellPro, a division of Molecular Diagnostic Services (Pty) Ltd, is bringing Dr Camille Lieners to South Africa in order to promote this blood test for assessing “hypersensitiivies”. It should be noted that Dr Lieners is neither a medical doctor nor a dietitian. She has a PhD from Luxembourg. She is, in other words, not a clinician, and does not directly care for healthy people or patients. But she is dispensing clinical ‘advice’. It is unclear what her ‘PhD’ was about, and it is unclear why she should be regarded as an expert in the clinical setting.
The owner of Molecular Diagnostic Services, Dr Dennis York, continues to promote this product for assessing “hypersensitivies” in spite of ASA rulings against the claims, and in spite of international consensus and position statements from allergy societies and representative organisations throughout the world including … Read the rest
A consumer complaint was laid with the ASA against the advertising claims for ImuPro: ” In essence the complainant submitted that the study relied on in support of this claim is inadequate. Recent publications and position statements by, inter alia, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology and the European Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology have effectively found that the IgG method is unreliable and cannot be recommended. Given this, consumers are misled into believing that the Atkinson study amounts to conclusive proof of efficacy for the respondent’s test, which is not the case.”
The ASA felt that they were “not in a position to determine whether the respondent’s interpretation of the Atkinson study is valid or not.”
ImuPro has been featured numerous times on CamCheck for making unsubstantiated claims for this test -and have been ruled against by the ASA. Originally only making tests for the benefit of ImuPro for allergies and intolerances, these have eventually been removed following a protracted course.
A complaint has been laid against the owner, Dr York, with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (no result yet).
Now we have been informed that Dr York/ ImuPro, are making other not so well supported claims.
On the Well-Pro – ImuPro website (http://www.wellpro.co.za/tests-imupro/), the following claim is made: “Data suggests that eliminating foods that are identified to have an IgG antibody response results in significant improvement in a variety of conditions like migraine (1), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (2), Crohns disease (3) and juvenile obesity (4).”
Dr Cornelia Botha and Dr Tanith Davidson, trading as the Health Inc Integrated Wellness Centre, are homeopaths who among other, support the measuring of IgG antibodies as an accurate predictor of allergens to which allergic individuals may be allergic to – in spite of overwhelming evidence that it does not. Does this reflect on their expertise? In this instance, they promoted the ImuPro IgG testing product, a product whose claims have had numerous adverse ASA rulings.
A consumer laid a complaint against the claims being made for ImuPro on the Health Inc website. The ASA agreed and ruled against the claims being made for the test.
The South African ASA has previously ruled against the claims being made for IgG/ImuPro testing. Here is the UK ASA ruling against the same/similar product being marketed in the UK.
Molecular Diagnostic Services (Pty) Ltd is a company established by Dr Denis York. They market the ImuPro test, a blood test using IgG testing to predict foods that may be responsible for a number and range of illnesses. They state, among other: “the internationally respected ImuPro Food IgG Intolerance Test can pinpoint food intolerances”.
In fact, ALL allergy societies throughout the world, including the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EACCI), the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), the Allergy Society of South Africa and Australian counterparts, have all issued clear statements stating that there is NO evidence in support of the claims for this test.
In fact, there is evidence showing that the test is BOGUS in predicting adverse reactions to food, and in some instances, may be downright dangerous. Does Dr York care? Considering the repeated ASA rulings against his company for the claims … Read the rest
In Imupro / H A Steinman / 14955 (11 February 2010), the Directorate accepted the respondent’s voluntary undertaking that an advertisement that contained the claim that the “the internationally respected ImuPro Food IgG Intolerance Test can pinpoint food intolerances” was a once off advertisement and will not be used again. The undertaking was accepted on condition that the claim was not used again in future.
ImuPro is a blood test which claims to be able predict which foods make you sick, i.e., cause allergy or intolerances. The test is supported by Patrick Holford – which should already make the consumer concerned about the validity of this test! The company claims: “…the internationally respected ImuPro Food IgG Intolerance Test that can pinpoint food intolerances”.
The facts are: IgG is a valid blood test, but NOT for intolerances or predicting foods are responsible for allergy.
All major allergy societies throughout the world, and allergy experts, have published position statements warning against IgG tests for this purpose.
See the Allergy Society of South Africa’s position statement on this test (and see the references which indicate links to all of the other societies statements). (We have brought this to the attention of the company but they continued to make these claims – makes one wonder of their ethics!)
