Trendy 'Olleh Shot' and Diet Products Crackdown on False and Exaggerated Advertising

This is the so-called "Olleh Shot," a recently popular mixture of olive oil and lemon juice.

Online shopping malls selling this product promote that consuming Olleh Shot provides slow-aging effects.

Another Olleh Shot product emphasizes that it is rich in antioxidants.

This health functional food, dubbed the "edible Wegovy," advertises that visceral fat disappears just by eating it without exercise.

All of these are false and misleading advertisements that deceive consumers.

In the wake of a concentrated inspection by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on foods promoting diet effects for the summer season when demand for weight loss increases, 26 businesses were caught violating the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods for methods such as claiming effects on disease prevention and treatment or making exaggerated advertisements.

In particular, experts analyze that there are currently no research results whatsoever showing that Olleh Shot prevents aging or is effective for dieting.

[Interview: Kim Ji-yeon / Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology, Seoul National University of Science and Technology : It results in consuming additional calories regardless of dieting. The idea that olive oil is good for health applies when it is consumed as part of a meal instead of other fats; consuming it in the form of an additional supplement offers no health benefits at all.]

The businesses caught this time were found to have sold about 600,000 products worth 11.5 billion won.

[This is the only thing that makes you lose weight from morning until you sleep.]

[Voice: MFDS Official : How did you end up including phrases like this?]

[Voice: Business Representative : We just asked (the video production company) to make it look like people could lose a lot of weight, so that it would seem like they could lose a lot....]

Among the businesses, one was found to have generated a total of 2 billion won in profit by selling a product with an initial purchase price of 2,000 won for 60,000 won.

[Interview: Baek Nam-i / Head of the Food Ad-Violation Emergency Response Team, MFDS : Many advertisements were caught using Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, which are not closely monitored and where blocking sites is difficult. They purchase other people's Instagram and Facebook accounts for a certain amount of money and post advertisements there. (They operated in a way that) when consumers make a purchase, it connects them to the product sales site or their own shopping mall.]

The MFDS has requested local governments to take administrative measures such as suspension of business against the relevant companies and has referred them for criminal investigation.

In addition, the MFDS advised consumers to be cautious not to be deceived, noting that there are cases where pharmacists recommend products or virtual characters generated by AI advertise ordinary foods as if they have therapeutic effects.

Reported by Park Ha-jeong | Video by Kim Se-kyung | Video Editing by Lee Hong-myeong | Photo courtesy of MFDS | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.