Golfer still backs Silberhorn
Golf legend Sir Bob Charles stands by a deer velvet supplement carrying his name despite the Commerce Commission ruling they breached fair trading laws.
The six-year Commerce Commission investigation concluded that Silberhorn deer capsules marketed as effective for supporting strength, activity and joint mobility had less active ingredient than claimed, and were packed with carob.
Eleven million capsules were sold over a four-year period for $5 million, with four of the five products marketed under Charles’ name.
Speaking this week, Charles, who was not implicated in the capsule controversy, said he stood by them. ‘‘I still believe in it,’’ the 84-year-old said.
Charles, who took deer velvet in 250mcg capsule form, said he had been ‘‘virtually injury-free’’ in his golfing career.
‘‘It obviously didn’t do me any harm, I was able to compete up until my mid-70s.’’
Health supplement company Gateway Solutions has pleaded guilty to 26 charges under the Fair Trading Act for misleading the public, with four of those charges relating to its website. It was fined $194,000.
The company and Ian Carline also pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to produce documents required by statutory notice, with Carline fined $6885.
Judge Phillips said Carline’s culpability was ‘‘at the very high end of such offending’’. ‘‘There was obstruction, unreasonable conduct and response and a total failure to comply with the information requested of the company and Mr Carline.’’
Bizarrely, Carline said he tested the efficacy of the capsules on himself, claiming he knew they were working when he blew his nose and it bled.
‘‘It appears upon the evidence overall, that neither the company nor Mr Carline were ever sure as to the actual amount of deer velvet powder that was being put in to the various batches of product by its contract manufacturers,’’
Judge Phillips noted in his 133-page decision .
Charles, who had taken deer velvet for around three decades and farmed 50 stags for their velvet, admitted he knew little about the commission probe ‘‘other than what I have read in the paper’’.
The investigation officially began in February 2014, with Carline tipped about the upcoming inquiry by the late All Black great, Sir Colin Meads, a regular tester of the deer velvet products.
At the heart of the longrunning saga was the potency of the deer velvet product, marketed under the brand Sportsvel, and promoted by the likes of Charles.
Those products, the commission later alleged, contained between 12 per cent to 33 per cent less deer velvet than what was claimed.
‘‘To make up for the shortfall of deer velvet, the defendant instructed their manufacturers to include more carob (a manufacturing aide) in each capsule,’’ the summary of facts said.
While the labels/packaging stated each capsule ‘‘may’’ contain ‘‘traces’’ of carob, they contained more than just traces.
With carob retailing at around $6.95 per kilogram, compared with $95 per kilogram for deer velvet, the company saved an estimated $1.2m over the offending period.
‘‘It obviously didn’t do me any harm, I was able to compete up until my mid-70s.’’ Sir Bob Charles