Bob Barefoot versus the FTC

My name is Robert Barefoot. You have seen me on television, heard me on the radio or on my audio tapes, or you may have read my books on the subject of coral calcium and its health benefits. I have been studying biological calcium for about 40 years now, long before it became a popular subject. And for that reason many seek out my council on this important subject. I also have sold and endorsed my own brands of coral calcium, i.e., CORAL CALCIUM SUPREME™, CORAL CALCIUM SUPREME PLUS™, and as well as other brands that I believe to constitute high quality marine coral calcium. I am a very proud graduate of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, NAIT, 1967. Since graduation I have, with fellow PhD co authors, 7 scientific publications and have written 3 books, "The Calcium Factor", "Death By Diet" and "If It Glitters" the first two of which are best sellers. I also have numerous international patents. My recent infomercial, with Kevin Trudeau, was the most watched infomercial in television history. As such it has become extremely controversial because of my references to the claim that calcium supplements can reverse a host of diseases, which are supported by thousands of scientific publications, some of which you have read in the previous page. The FTC incorrectly deemed that the claims were being attached to the calcium product, coral calcium, being sold, even though I did not actually claim that the product itself cured anything, as can be verified by an examination of the verbal text of the show, and as has been verified by third party experts. My goal was to suggest that there was a definate possibility that Calcium could be the key to certain deseases.

Every American will never forget 9-11. That day changed all of our lives. However, for Bob Barefoot, his day of infamy was 6-10. On June 10, 2003, the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, filed a preliminarily injunction against Bob Barefoot, Kevin Trudeau and others. That action against Bob Barefoot virtually destroyed him economically and did serious damage to his reputation Although the complaint contained only accusations with the accused is supposedly being innocent until the courts rule otherwise, in reality any FTC target is deemed guilty until he can prove himself innocent, a feat that usually requires millions of dollars. The claims made against Barefoot by the FTC were unfounded. Outside of a court of law they would be considered defamatory. However, employees of the FTC are protected by the government despite their guilt. In other words the FTC is allowed to bypass the American system of justice. This of course was never the intent of Congress which gave the FTC these sweeping powers, as it is totally un-American.

 The FTC alleged that Barefoot had made "unsubstantiated" medical claims concerning coral calcium in the infomercial in which Kevin Trudeau and I appeared. In an attempt to fully cooperate with the FTC, and even though we disagree with positions the FTC is taking in the case, we voluntarily agreed to a temporary injunction or agreement in which Barefoot agreed not to make certain claims unless and until I have obtained appropriate substantiation. This was considered an easy feat as Robert Barefoot never made these claims in the first place. The temporary agreement in no way prohibited Barefoot from continuing to publish and speak on the subject of coral calcium, nor does it prohibit Barefoot or his authorized distributors from selling CORAL CALCIUM SUPREME™ or any other coral calcium products.

We have cooperated with the FTC, and have reached a settlement, whereby, even though Barefoot is innocent, he pleads guilty and thereby avoids a very expensive trial, which even if he won, would not compensate him for his losses. Under the settlement Barefoot is not precluded from publishing or speaking on the subject of coral calcium, or from selling coral calcium products. Barefoot is precluded from making health claims about coral calcium, which once again is an easy feat as Barefoot does not make the claims but rather encourages the thousands who wish so to do so.

In Barefoot’s books tapes and shows, he refers to hundreds of scientific documents that demonstrate that Calcium is an essential nutrient in our daily diet and is a key factor in a wide range of biological systems within the body. Its role in disease prevention and treatment has been studied, and continues to be studied, by numerous scientists around the world. A search on the US National Library of Medicine’s PubMed system reveals more than 17,000 scientific articles on calcium and its relationship to cancer. Unfortunately the AMA, the FDSA and the FTC are unaware of their existence, or refuse to read. In particular, clinical trials have examined the link between calcium consumption and its positive effects on colorectal cancer, one of the most common cancers in America. While the study of calcium continues, its importance is becoming widely recognized even among the more conservative members of the scientific and medical Communities. The 2001 "Physicians Desk Reference for Nutritional Supplements’ " chapter on calcium states that calcium has anti-osteroporotic activity and may also have anti-carcinogenic, antihypertensive and hypocholesterolemic activity.

The Kevin Trudeau/Robert Barefoot infomercial reflected these scientific views. Incorrectly, the FTC’s position is that the show claimed precisely the following:

Coral Calcium is an effective cure for any form of cancer



Coral calcium is an effective treatment or cure for multiple sclerosis, lupus, or other autoimmune diseases.



Coral calcium is an effective treatment or cure for heart disease and/or chronic high blood pressure.



A daily serving size of coral calcium provides the same bio-available calcium as two gallons of milk.



The body absorbs significantly more, and in some cases as much as 100 times more, of the calcium contained in coral calcium, and at a rate significantly faster, than the calcium contained in other commonly available calcium supplements.




Scientific research published in the Journal of the America Medical Association, (JAMA), the New England Journal of Medicine, and other reputable medical journals prove that calcium supplements are able reverse and/or cure all forms of cancer in the human body.

However, an actual examination of the verbal text of the show will demonstrate that all of the above FTC accusations are totally incorrect. Their actions to get a preliminary injunction combined with the generated publicity have forced Barefoot to the brink of bankruptcy. Unfortunately, in America when the FTC takes any action, American citizens are considered guilty until they can prove their innocence, a process requiring millions of dollars. And even if they slander American citizens, FTC agents are protected by the courts. This activity is totally un-American, and I therefore seek redress from Congress. Using the text of the contentious show, the FTC should be made to prove to Congress their charges against me.

As this will be impossible for them to do, they should be forced to issue a public apology and provide financial compensation. Furthermore, the FTC has demonstrated the height of pettiness by demanding Barefoot’s home, a mobile home which was purchased for less than $15,000 three years ago. They also want to muzzle Barefoot and to destroy the rest of his business and confiscate all of his assets. Their temporary injunction froze his assets and by doing so, the FTC made it impossible to raise money to pay lawyers. Thus the FTC is thereby allowed to deny legal council to its victims and wins by default. When Barefoot explained what had happened to Congressman Howard Pollock (Alaska), he declared that what the FTC did was un-American. My good friend Congressman Pollock, Alaska, advises that innocent men should never plead guilty. He said that he had seen the infomercial and in his opinion (Congressman Pollock is a lawyer) Barefoot is innocent of all charges. This was re-iterated by another congressman, Congressman Dan Burton, Indiana who said that his lawyers had concluded that Barefoot "did not cross the line" and he is therefore innocent.

Trudeau, on the other hand has money to fight back, and of course Barefoot thoroughly supports his efforts. He began by arranging for three expert consulting reports. The first report was by Kenneth E. Mulligan III, Ph.D. Pharmacy (Medical Chemistry) from Oregon State University. The conclusions of his report were as follows:

Dr. Mulligan provides dozens of "government documents" to support his conclusions and also refers to the Sloan TrenSense Report of 2002 that stated that calcium had 80,000 medical counts and 4,000 consumer counts in media forums. The nutrition industry uses this data as a barometer for consumer awareness/exposure, popularization, and the ability to commercialize a product or ingredient. An ingredient is considered to be commercially successful at 500 medical and 200 consumer counts. Therefore calcium has 160 times the medical and 20 times the consumer counts required for success. Thus calcium has been introduced to the market at an astounding rate with more than 200 new products introduced per year for the last three years. Thus "Dr. Mulligan concurs with the medical views on calcium’s health potential that was expressed in the Trudeau infomercial."

 The second expert report was by James T. Berger, Ph.D., Northwestern University. He begins by criticizing the FTC for not having the necessary consumer survey that probed how potential viewers would perceive the information that is communicated in the infomercial. He further states that "In my opinion, based on my teaching and professional experience as well as my analysis of the infomercial as a whole, I do not believe false and/or misleading allegations have been made." He then proceeds "to refute all six claims made by the FTC" by comparing their claims to the text of the infomercial. He concludes with "It is my opinion that in the absence of a consumer survey, there is no evidence of false or deceptive advertising." Also, court precedence requires a public survey before the FTC can make the declaration that Barefoot "implied" any claims. Mr. Johnson concludes that Barefoot and Mr. Trudeau simply establish a relationship between calcium and various diseases. Mr. Barefoot does not contend that his product will cure or reverse any of these ailments, and as was clearly stated in the infomercial transcript, Mr. Barefoot says, "We’re not curing anybody, you’re curing yourself."

 The third report was by Philip Johnson, M.B.A. University of Chicago, Chief executive Officer of Leo J. Shapiro and Associates. A market research and consulting firm that conducts surveys. Mr. Johnson conducted a survey to determine whether or not purchasers of Robert Barefoot Coral Calcium products were satisfied or dissatisfied with their purchase, as well as the reasons underlying their beliefs. On the survey of about "10,000 households", 70% report being very satisfied, with 58% reporting being extremely satisfied and with most respondents saying that "the product works for them, and really has changed their lives" and 75% saying that they would purchase the product again in the future. Johnson concludes that "the purchasers have not been mislead by advertising claims and that Robert Barefoot's coral calcium products are rated at the highest level of satisfaction."

Kevin Trudeau will use these reports to try to persuade the courts to permit the re-airing of the coral calcium infomercial. Bob Barefoot endorses Trudeau's position and will continue to fight the FTC’s action in the press, the internet and in Congress. JUST WATCH !!!

Bob Barefoot does admit guilt to the following:

In conclusion, despite the negative publicity that has been waged against Barefoot by the FTC and his competitors, most notably Stephen Holt, very little has changed. Unfortunately an innocent man was asked by his lawyers to plead guilty to eliminate an unwinnable and expensive court action. Many consider this un-American. Barefoot continues to endorse coral calcium as an important dietary supplement, and continues to publish his beliefs in this area, and sales of his authentic, high quality coral calcium products, including Robert Barefoot CORAL CALCIUM SUPREME™ are continuing well. Barefoot Coral calcium is a natural product made by God and has 600 years of track record with hundreds of millions of people participating. Since history cannot be erased, the FTC, FDA and AMA will all loose in the end. Despite this, Barefoot does not expect the negative publicity to suddenly end, at least not until he has a legal judgment against Holt and maybe not even then.

So Robert Barefoot asks each of you to carefully consider the source of this negative publicity, and weigh it accordingly. Can hundreds of millions of people taking God’s nutrients all be wrong ??? Or, is the FTC wrong ??? Your opinion counts. Leave it for Barefoot at kingofcalcium@hotmail.com.

Please join Robert Barefoot's efforts to save the children by eradicating disease today.  Let's cure America.