‘Stick to talking about activated almonds’: Pete Evans slammed for spruiking $15,000 ‘light machine cure to coronavirus’

As celebrity chef Pete Evans is slammed for promoting a $15,000 ‘light machine’ he claims cures COVID-19, the TGA says it will investigate.

Pete Evans spruiking the BioCharger.

My Kitchen Rules star Pete Evans is in for a grilling with the Therapeutic Goods Administration revealing it is investigating his bizarre claims that a $20,000 “light machine” he is selling on his website can be used to treat COVID-19.

The device - named the BioCharger NG - is being sold through Mr Evans’s website for US$14,990 ($23,617) - with a US$500 discount for his followers - and is billed as a “hybrid subtle energy revitalisation platform” that uses “four transmitted energies” to “stimulate and invigorate the entire body to optimise and improve potential health, wellness, and athletic performance”.

Mr Evans said on a live Facebook video stream that the BioCharger “is a pretty amazing tool” that will “take me an hour or two to explain it”, before claiming there are “a thousand different recipes and a couple on there for Wuhan coronavirus”.

The television personality’s controversial endorsement of the product has been met with significant criticism from health authorities and the public.

The Federal Department of Health confirmed the TGA would investigate the device to determine whether any action needed to be taken “in relation to any illegal advertising of therapeutic products, including advertising on social media”.

“The TGA is monitoring non-compliance, particularly in relation to the advertising of products that claim to prevent or cure COVID-19,” he said.

“The TGA has issued a warning about advertising relating to COVID-19 which reminds consumers that, in Australia, the advertising of therapeutic goods is regulated by the TGA and must meet certain requirements in the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 and the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code.”

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Harry Nespolan lambasted Mr Evans on Friday, saying in a stinging barb that the celebrity chef “needs to stop” issuing medical advice and instead “stick to talking about activated almonds”.

The BioCharger has been labelled a ‘glorified plasma lamp’.

The Australian Medical Association also shared its disbelief at Mr Evan’s claims in an online response, saying “This guy just doesn’t get it.”

“He is not a doctor. He is not a scientist. He is a chef.”

Mr Evans has a history of promoting alternative health treatments to his more than 1.5 million social media followers, attracting criticism from health authorities for sharing advice that could be misleading or harmful.

Evans is a judge on Channel 7’s MKR alongside Manu Feildel, and Colin Fassnidge. Picture: Channel 7

The AMA has previously criticised Mr Evans, saying he was putting his fans’ health at risk by spreading misinformation about the alleged dangers of fluoride and sunscreen.

In 2015 Mr Evans authored a paleo cookbook for babies which featured a recipe for a breastmilk replacement made out of chicken liver and bone broth. The Public Health Association of Australia said babies could potentially die from ingesting the nutritionally imbalanced mixture.

A few months ago I advised anti-vaxxer/celebrity chef Pete Evans that he should stick to talking about ‘activated almonds’ and leave vaccinations alone. He's at it again, his time on #COVIDー19 and he needs to stop.https://t.co/cPklM7RnPG

— RACGP President (@RACGPPresident) April 10, 2020

Mr Evans did not respond to requests to comment on his furore.
The BioCharger NG is manufactured by Advanced Biotechnologies, an American firm that claims to be “the innovation leader within the emerging field of subtle energy revitalisation platforms”.

Advanced Biotechnologies’s website claims the BioCharger NG “utilizes four different energy types – Light, Voltage, Frequencies & Harmonics, and Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Fields (PEMFs)”.

This guy just doesn’t get it. Pete Evans is trying to sell a $15,000 fancy light machine to vulnerable and frightened people to protect them against #COVID_19.
He is not a doctor.
He is not a scientist.
He is a chef. pic.twitter.com/q6nWb3EojB

— AMA Media (@ama_media) April 10, 2020

However, Biotechnologies does not claim their flagship product is a medical device that can cure coronavirus, instead stating it is “a subtle energy revitalization platform that wirelessly projects pulsed electromagnetic energy through a predefined range of frequencies.”

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly on Friday issued a warning to Australians who believed there are methods that could successfully treat COVID-19.

“There is no specific treatment yet proven to be able to cure this virus,” Professor Kelly said.

“Please be wary of claims that there is a cure for this virus.”

“To claim that there is a cure for this virus … is illegal in Australia.”