Acai berry fruit has been the subject of some recent controversy. The latest news about Oprah’s sue-fest will come as no real surprise to anyone following the Acai and its related industry. Many of the companies jumping on the Acai bandwagon have employed what would charitably be described as ‘inventive’ ways of marketing their products. One of these ways was to associate – either implicitly or explicitly – media darling Oprah Winfrey. It is believed that Oprah will sue as many as 40 companies over Acai scams, and the various accused companies could be looking at massive fines.

Acai berry fruit has been the cause of a number of Acai scam related court actions lately, as cases have been brought by various government and state bodies; this move by Oprah to sue over acai berry is only going to fuel the trend further. In fact this move by Oprah occurs at the same time as Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s suit filed on behalf of customers who claim to have been tricked into believing fake endorsements. People have, the complaint claims, been tricked into trusting the products and their manufacturers as a direct result of Oprah’s fake endorsement.

Acai berry fruit advertisements that use Oprah’s image, says the Queen of the talk show, implies some kind of relation between her and particular products; this, she says, was invariably done without her permission. Fabrication of quotes – or taking quotes out of context – was another area in which the complaint took issue with the advertising campaigns of up to 40 companies involved in selling acai related products.

“Consumers should be aware that neither Oprah Winfrey nor Dr. Oz are associated with nor do they endorse any acaí berry product, company or online solicitation of such products, including MonaVie juice products,”

Acai berry fruit has caused Oprah some serious problems, whichever way you look at it, and Oprah most likely has some very good reasons to be annoyed by the habits of the perpetrators. Her name has become inextricably linked with Acai Berry, and has been used to promote the health benefits of the berry which, she says, are often misrepresented. That many customers are being sent fake products and pills that bear no relation to the products they thought they would receive did not help the matter. The damage to the Oprah brand is impossible to quantify, but is clearly substantial.

There is no doubt that the Acai berry fruit is a nutritious and healthy food. It is one of the world’s super foods, and if used correctly is a perfect tool for improving anyone’s health; misleading people with fake products and dubious marketing tactics has finally caught up with those controlling the darker side of this particular market.