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Official message from Juice Plus+

Hello. My name is Cindy Hofmeister-Thomas, director of Interactive Marketing at NSA, the maker of Juice Plus+®. We have been closely following the discussion that is taking place on the talk page of the Juice Plus+® Wikipedia article. First, let me say that I know that companies are typically not supposed to use the talk page as a general forum. However, we do not see this as a typical situation – and we don’t know of a more effective or appropriate way to share relevant, factual information about our product with the contributors engaged in this discussion.

We have chosen not to become involved in the discussion up to this point because we respect the intent of Wikipedia, which is to present factual and unbiased information on any subject. We had hoped that the altruistic motives of the Wikipedia community would eventually prevail even in this case and that this situation might somehow resolve itself. However, we appear to be at a point where the contributors cannot reach agreement on what constitutes neutrality – and efforts to engage mediation have failed due to the refusal of one particular contributor to participate.

Our aim is not to transform the article into a glowing review of Juice Plus+® but rather a fair, balanced, and neutral explanation of what Juice Plus+® is (and is not). We feel that individuals who visit Wikipedia looking for information about Juice Plus+® should receive as much unbiased information as possible to allow them to make informed determinations about our product based on facts and clinical research.

We are primarily concerned with edits to the Juice Plus+® article and postings to the accompanying talk page made by one particular contributor, Rhode Island Red (RIR). We are convinced that this contributor is a detractor with competitive ties who is hiding behind the anonymity of Wikipedia in an effort to use the site for commercial advantage. In support of this contention, please note that the Juice Plus+® article appears to be the only Wikipedia article that this contributor ever edits, at least using that particular name.

Wikipedia fails to serve its public when a single editor with a negative agenda is allowed to dominate an article or its discussion and to veto an honest attempt at mediation for purposes of his/her/their own personal gain. It is clear to us that this article will never be neutral if RIR is allowed to continue to cleverly use the Wikipedia rules to promote his/her/their own agenda rather than wielding facts that could actually help make the Juice Plus+® article more neutral. We want to work within the rules of the Wikipedia community to help responsible contributors prevent this from occurring.

Toward that end, I am prepared to provide some very basic information that I think you will find helpful in sorting out the facts about Juice Plus+®. Much of what has been cited by RIR as fact is actually either biased opinion or selective fact taken out of context – with an obvious, consistent, and exclusive focus on negative information about the product. Several contributors already realize this, as they have questioned the veracity of much of the information provided by RIR as well as spoken to the negative focus of his/her/their contributions. With your permission, I will be glad to share this information – and satisfy any other reasonable requests for information – that we think can help you, as contributors, better assess the issue of bias in the current article, an issue which is already under discussion.

Any information we provide is intended to give you a more factual understanding of both Juice Plus+® and the clinical research that has been conducted on the capsules and published in the peer-reviewed literature. It will focus on information that we believe has been distorted in the article and on the talk page.

On a related point, we are aware that a previous contributor to the talk page who identified herself as a Juice Plus+® distributor disregarded Wikipedia protocol by directly editing the Juice Plus+® article. Please keep in mind from this point forward that I am the sole official voice representing Juice Plus+® in this online community and that I intend to make every effort to fully honor Wikipedia rules and conventions.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of our input and offer of additional information – and for your efforts to help make Wikipedia an accurate, reliable resource for its readers.

Juice Plus+® Juice Plus+® is a nutritional product that comes in a capsule and is designed to complement a healthy diet. Juice Plus+® is not a treatment or cure for any disease or medical condition and is not a substitute for fruits and vegetables in the everyday diet. Juice Plus+® is described as “the next best thing to fruits and vegetables.” It is available in more than twenty countries worldwide. The largest market for Juice Plus+® is the United States; the information here applies primarily to this market.

History Juice Plus+® has its origins in juicing, a nutritional practice in which produce is pulverized to juice form for consumption as a liquid, retaining much of the nutritional value of the original fruit and/or vegetable. Consumers often found the process of juicing to be expensive, messy, and impractical. In 1993, NSA – a direct sales company based in Memphis, Tennessee – introduced a new nutritional product containing concentrated fruit and vegetable juice powders and called it Juice Plus+®.

Product Information There are three types of Juice Plus+® capsules. The Orchard Blend (fruits) and Garden Blend (vegetables) are complementary products sold together; Vineyard Blend (berries and grapes) is sold separately. Ingredients are listed on the package label in order of predominance by weight, in accordance with FDA regulations . Juice Plus+ Orchard Blend® is composed primarily of blended fruit juice powder and pulp from apple, orange, pineapple, cranberry, peach, acerola cherry, and papaya. Juice Plus+ Garden Blend® is composed primarily of blended vegetable juice powder and pulp from carrot, parsley, beet, kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and tomato. Juice Plus+ Vineyard Blend® is composed primarily of blended juice powder and pulp from Concord grape, blueberry, cranberry, blackberry, bilberry, raspberry, red currant, black currant, and elderberry. Additional ingredients are present in all three blends for processing functionality – for example, vegetable derived magnesium stearate and silicon dioxide. The juice powders also contain additional naturally-derived micronutrients such as carotenoids from the algae Dunaliella salina, soy-derived tocopherols, and Vitamin C. Other whole food sourced ingredients are also included in the products and declared on their respective labels -- for example garlic powder, date powder, and prune powder.

Juice Plus+® is produced under conditions that meet or exceed applicable Current Good Manufacturing Practices standards as stipulated under the United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Volume 2 .

Published Research on Juice Plus+® Capsules Numerous investigations using Juice Plus+® have been published since 1996 in the peer-reviewed literature. The best source of information about any published study is the primary literature itself: i.e., the actual published articles. Below are the citations for these investigations. Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Human Investigations • Nantz MP, Rowe CA, Nieves Jr. C, Percival SS. Immunity and antioxidant capacity in humans is enhanced by consumption of a dried, encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice concentrate. Journal of Nutrition 2006; 136(10): 2606-2610

This research was conducted at the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida; Gainesville, Florida, USA.

• Bloomer RJ, Goldfarb AH, McKenzie MJ. Oxidative stress response to aerobic exercise: Comparison of antioxidant supplements. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2006; 38(6): 1098-1105

This research was conducted at the Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Department of Exercise and Sports Science, University of North Carolina – Greensboro; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.

• Kiefer I, Prock P, Lawrence C, Wise J, Bieger W, Bayer P, Rathmanner T, Kunze M, Rieder A. Supplementation with mixed fruit and vegetable juice concentrates increased serum antioxidants and folate in healthy adults. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2004; 23(3): 205-211

This research was conducted at the Institute of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, Medical University of Vienna; Vienna, Austria.

• Samman S, Sivarajah G, Man JC, Ahmad ZI, Petocz P, Caterson ID. A mixed fruit and vegetable concentrate increases plasma antioxidant vitamins and folate and lowers plasma homocysteine in men. Journal of Nutrition 2003; 133(7): 2188-2193

This research was conducted at the Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney; Sydney, Australia.

o Letter to the Editor: Watzl B, Bub A. Fruit and vegetable concentrate or vitamin supplement? Journal of Nutrition 2003; 133(11): 3725 o Letter to the Editor: Samman S. Reply to Watzl and Bub. Journal of Nutrition 2003; 133(11): 3726

• Plotnick GD, Corretti MC, Vogel RA, Hesslink Jr. R, Wise JA. Effect of supplemental phytonutrients on impairment of the flow-mediated brachial artery vasoactivity after a single high-fat meal. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2003; 41(10): 1744-1749

This research was conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

o Editorial comment: Freedman JE. High-fat diets and cardiovascular disease: are nutritional supplements useful? Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2003; 41(10): 1750-1752

Dietary Controlled Human Trial • Panunzio MF, Pisano A, Antoniciello A, Di Martino V, Frisoli L, Cipriani V, Mongelli MA, Bronzetti G. Supplementation with fruit and vegetable concentrate decreases plasma homocysteine levels in a dietary controlled trial. Nutrition Research 2003; 23(9): 1221-1228

This research was conducted at the Section of Human Nutrition; Department of Health; Local Healthcare Unit Foggia; Foggia, Italy. Pilot Clinical Research • Houston MC, Cooil B, Olafsson BJ, Raggi P. Juice powder concentrate and systemic blood pressure, progression of coronary artery calcium and antioxidant status in hypertensive subjects: A pilot study. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM) Advance access published online on February 7, 2007 doi:10.1093/ecam/nel108.

This research was conducted in conjunction with the Hypertension Institute of Nashville, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Saint Thomas Hospital; Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

• Bamonti F, Novembrino C, Ippolito S, Soresi E, Ciani A, Lonati S, Scurati-Manzoni E, Cighetti G. Increased free malondialdehyde concentrations in smokers normalize with a mixed fruit and vegetable juice concentrate: A pilot study. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine 2006; 44(4): 391-395

This research was conducted at the Department of Medical Science; University of Milan; Milan, Italy.

• Leeds AR, Ferris EAE, Stanley J, Ayesh R, Ross F. Availability of micronutrients from dried, encapsulated fruit and vegetable preparations: a study in healthy volunteers. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 2000; 13(1): 21-27

This research was conducted at the Department of Nutrition; King’s College London; London, UK.

• Smith MJ, Inserra PF, Watson RR, Wise JA, O’Neill KL. Supplementation with fruit and vegetable extracts may decrease DNA damage in the peripheral lymphocytes of an elderly population. Nutrition Research 1999; 19(10): 1507-1518

This research was conducted at the Department of Microbiology; Brigham Young University; Provo, Utah, USA, in conjunction with the University of Arizona; Tucson, Arizona, USA.

• Inserra PF, Jiang S, Solkoff D, Lee J, Zhang Z, Xu M, Hesslink Jr. R, Wise J, Watson RR. Immune function in elderly smokers and nonsmokers improves during supplementation with fruit and vegetable extracts. Integrative Medicine 1999; 2(1): 3-10

This research was conducted at the Arizona Prevention Center; University of Arizona; Tucson, Arizona, USA.

• Wise JA, Morin RJ, Sanderson R, Blum K. Changes in plasma carotenoid, alpha-tocopherol, and lipid peroxide levels in response to supplementation with concentrated fruit and vegetable extracts: a pilot study. Current Therapeutic Research 1996; 57(6): 445-461

This research was conducted in conjunction with the University of Texas Health Science Center; San Antonio, Texas, USA.

In Vitro (Non- Clinical) Testing • Chambers SJ, Lambert N, Plumb GW, Williamson G. Evaluation of the antioxidant properties if a methanolic extract from “Juice Plus fruit” and “Juice Plus vegetable” (dietary supplements). Food Chemistry 1996; 57(2); 271-274

This research was conducted at the Department of Biochemistry; Institute of Food Research; Norwich Research Park, Colney; Norwich, UK.

References

 1. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/flg-4.html  
 2. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/cfr110.html 
 3. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/136/10/2606 
 4.http://www.acsm-msse.org/pt/re/msse/abstract.00005768-200606000-00013.htm;jsessionid=GKtTwtZ3fMPMWyCQJwFL0SzmWy6r0CXLwRXHRzXJ2vZhg2MnKgwL!721371455!-949856145!8091!-1 
 5. http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/23/3/205 
 6. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/7/2188 
 7. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/11/3725 
 8. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/11/3726 
 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(03)00302-4  
 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(03)00303-6  
 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5317(03)00133-7  
 12. http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/nel108v1  
 13. http://www.atypon-link.com/doi/abs/10.1515/CCLM.2006.084 
 14. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-277x.2000.00206.x 
 15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5317(99)00107-4  
 16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1096-2190(99)00010-4  
 17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0011-393X(96)80053-1  
 18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0308-8146(95)00223-5 

CHT9 15:06, 22 June 2007 (UTC)CHT9: June 22, 2007.

Hi Cindy, and welcome to Wikipedia. Thank you for your interest and all the good information. This talk page is the right place to do this, especially since you have a very real Conflict of interest and you have no more rights here than any other editor. But don't be worried, I'm sure we'll take you very seriously.

You write:

• "We have chosen not to become involved in the discussion up to this point because we respect the intent of Wikipedia, which is to present factual and unbiased information on any subject."

Wikipedia's intent is not limited to that. Wikipedia is about documenting the existence of verifiable opinions and facts rather than what's "true", "factual", or "unbiased". It's the evidence that the POV exists that matters, regardless of whether that POV is "true" or not.

Cindy, what has happened here is nothing unusual. Juice Plus+ is the victim of Wikipedia's "Law of Unintended Consequences." This "law" is a part of its COI policy:

• "If you write in Wikipedia about yourself, your group, your company, or your pet idea, once the article is created, you have no right to control its content, and no right to delete it outside our normal channels. Content is not deleted just because somebody doesn't like it. Any editor may add material to the article within the terms of our content policies. If there is anything publicly available on a topic that you would not want included in an article, it will probably find its way there eventually. More than one user has created an article only to find himself presented in a poor light long-term by other editors. Therefore, don't create promotional or other articles lightly, especially on subjects you care about. Either edit neutrally or don't edit at all. NPOV is absolute and non-negotiable."

This applies to all articles and to any subject, regardless of who started the article. We need to cover the subject from all angles, and NPOV requires that both sides of the story are presented, so if any criticism exists, it must be included. Many think they can write an article presenting a subject in the best light possible, only to find they haven't just opened a can of worms, they have opened Pandora's box itself. Once the article is started, all kinds of negative things also become part of the article. So attempts to promote something often end up back-firing.

While obvious promotion is totally out of place, attempts to suppress negative information are also forbidden. As we have often seen here, any attempts to cover-up documented criticism only result in more unwanted attention and even better referenced criticisms being added to the article in question. In fact, one risks that such attempts will likely come to the attention of the media and the resulting press coverage can have disastrous consequences for the subject. We're talking about things as potentially serious as the New York Times, the stock market, and even bankruptcy.

We aren't interested in Juice Plus+'s idea of "truth", but in NPOV coverage of all aspects of the subject, IOW the inclusion of far from neutral POV on both sides of the issue. Wikipedia's NPOV form of "neutrality" consists in not taking sides or advocating one POV as the only "proper" POV. Hagiographic articles are fine in the media or your own website, but are totally inappropriate here.

Your proper role here (since you have a COI) is to ensure that obvious libel (well, a company can't be libelled!) or undocumented criticisms are corrected, and that is best done by participating on the article's talk page and convincing other editors to help you do it if they can be convinced by your arguments. If that doesn't work, then you can take your complaint higher up in the system. I hope this information will help you to avoid some serious pitfalls and make your contributions here more effective and free of controversy. -- Fyslee/talk 18:08, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I am extremely shocked that an official representative of the company that markets Juice Plus would include unwarranted personal attacks and libelous COI accusations in their debut on this page. I will remind this user that WP:NPA is a cardinal rule of Wikipedia, and accusations of agendas and COIs are totally inappropriate and extremely offensive. Rhode Island Red 01:30, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I can understand your consternation for this blockable offense. If it occurs again, take it to the noticeboard. I think my message above should be adequate enough to make them cautious and I doubt it will happen again, especially since any representative of Juice Plus+ or seller of its products has a COI, making their edits worthy of special attention. One thing to keep in mind, affiliations and personal POV in and of themselves need not be a hindrance to editing. They only become relevant as a COI issue if they lead to tendentious editing. Focus on the editing and not on the editor. If the editing gets suspicious, then take it a notch up, starting with personal contact to the person involved. Maybe a misunderstanding is causing problems, and if that is the case it would be unfortunate to have caused unnecessary problems. -- Fyslee/talk 12:25, 23 June 2007 (UTC)