Morinda, Inc.
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Morinda is a
multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling th ...
company based in
American Fork, Utah American Fork is a city in north-central Utah County, Utah, United States, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range, north from Utah Lake. This city is thirty-two miles southeast of Salt Lake City. It is part of the Provo– ...
that sells Tahitian Noni juice and other products made from the
noni ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Its native range extends across Southeast Asia and Australasia, and was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout th ...
plant. The company was founded in 1996 and has manufacturing facilities in
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
, Japan, China,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and Utah. Morinda, formerly known as Tahitian Noni International and Morinda Bioactives, was a subsidiary of Morinda Holdings, Inc. prior to merging with and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of New Age Beverages Corporation in December 2019.


Products

Morinda's main product is a
noni juice Noni juice is derived from the fruit of the ''Morinda citrifolia'' tree indigenous to Southeast Asia and Australasia. It has been promoted, illegally in several cases, as a cure for a number of human diseases. However, there is no evidence to sup ...
blend sold under the brand name Tahitian Noni. The company also markets various dietary supplements, personal care products, and essential oils. Tahitian Noni juice consists of a blend of
pasteurized Pasteurization American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mi ...
reconstituted noni puree (89%) mixed with grape and blueberry juice concentrates (11%), which is pasteurized prior to bottling. The manufacturer's recommended serving size is 30 mL/day (1 ounce). Several websites and blogs claimed there are many health benefits of noni juices. However, according to the European Commission's
Scientific Committee on Food The Scientific Committee on Food (SCF), established in 1974, was the main committee providing the European Commission with scientific advice on food safety. "Scientific Committee on Food - FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY" (overview), Gov.uk, F ...
, the nutritional content (i.e., macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals) of Tahitian Noni juice is comparable to the ranges known for typical fruit juices, and the agency concluded that there was no evidence that the juice had any special health benefits beyond those of other fruit juices. The nutritional content of noni juice is roughly comparable to that of apple juice.


Controversy


Attorneys General (AZ, CA, NJ, TX) vs. Morinda Holdings, Inc.

On August 26, 1998, the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, New Jersey, and Texas announced a multi-state settlement with Morinda, Inc., the charges stating that Morinda had made "unsubstantiated claims in consumer testimonials and other promotional material that its Tahitian Noni juice could treat, cure or prevent numerous diseases, including
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
,
clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
,
hemorrhoid Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...
s and arthritis." Such claims rendered the beverage an unapproved new drug under state and federal food and drug laws and should not have been sold until it received approval. Under the terms of the agreement, Morinda agreed to: * No longer make drug claims, or claims that the product can cure, treat, or prevent any disease until "Tahitian Noni" is approved and cleared for those uses by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
. * Not make any other claims, whether health claims or others, regarding the benefits of Tahitian Noni unless such claims are true and the company can substantiate the claim by reliable scientific evidence. * Not use
testimonials In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, where ...
which imply that the advertised claimed results are the typical or ordinary experience of consumers in actual conditions of use, unless Morinda possesses and relies upon adequate substantiation that the results are typical or ordinary. The settlement also called for Morinda to pay $100,000 for investigative costs and to provide a refund for the full purchase price to any consumer who submitted a written refund request.


Tahitian Noni & XanGo settlement

Tahitian Noni sued
XanGo Xango, LLC, (sometimes stylized as XANGO and XanGo) was a privately owned Lehi, Utah-based multi-level marketing company founded in 2002. It was acquired by Zija International in May 2017. The company marketed and distributed Xango juice, a blen ...
and several of its top executives in February 2003 in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, alleging that executives stole Tahitian Noni's concept for a
mangosteen Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to tropical lands surrounding the Indian Ocean. Its origin is uncertain due to widespread prehistoric cultivation. ...
-based supplement while they were employed by TNI's parent-company, to which XanGo counter-sued. In a joint statement, Tahitian Noni and XanGo did not disclose particulars regarding the settlement, only stating that they have "agreed to resolve their disputes and the litigation between them and their founders."


Possible contamination in Spain

Residents of Spain were alerted in February 2007 to avoid consuming certain improperly labeled bottles of Tahitian Noni Juice while the health department there awaited toxicology reports for a man who died after drinking the juice. According to reports in Spain, a 40-year-old man from Ogijares drank some noni juice for breakfast and began to experience strange sensations in his mouth and blurred vision. He died shortly thereafter, and another family member, who also drank some juice, reported similar symptoms. Reports stated that there were large amounts of cocaine found in the bottles and the body of the deceased man. The bottles recovered from the deceased man's home were submitted to the Spanish Institute of Toxicology, where it was confirmed the bottles were contaminated with cocaine. The bottles in question bore labels from Mexico, and the lot number and expiration dates were illegible. Spanish authorities urged consumers to check the labels on their bottles of juice and report any irregularities. Consumers were also asked not to purchase bottles of juice outside the company's normal distribution channels.


Hepatotoxicity

Following several medical
case report In medicine, a case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports may contain a demographic profile of the patient, but usually describe an unusual or novel occurrenc ...
s of
hepatotoxicity Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdrawn fr ...
among consumers of noni juice, a 2009 study on Tahitian Noni by the
European Food Safety Authority The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...
advised that data available at the time of the case reports were not sufficient to establish a causal relationship between consumption of the juice and hepatotoxicity; however, an increasing number of subsequent case reports suggested that some individuals may be particularly sensitive to hepatotoxic effects of noni fruit products.


See also

*
Noni juice Noni juice is derived from the fruit of the ''Morinda citrifolia'' tree indigenous to Southeast Asia and Australasia. It has been promoted, illegally in several cases, as a cure for a number of human diseases. However, there is no evidence to sup ...


References

{{Authority control Companies established in 1996 Multi-level marketing companies based in Utah 1996 establishments in Utah