Medical and health claims in product descriptions

Google’s Shopping policies rule out false or misleading health claims, and unapproved products sold as treating or curing a disease. Describe what the product is and contains, and leave out disease, cure and “clinically proven” unless you can show the approval or study behind them. It can feel like cutting your best sales line; it is also the one Google’s policy is written against.

Critical4 min read

By Edvinas Ivanauskas How the guides are reviewed

Why this matters

Google's “Healthcare & medicines” policy for Shopping ads lists, under unapproved pharmaceuticals and supplements, “Products that make false or misleading health claims” and “Non-government approved or non-prescription products that are marketed in a way that implies that they're safe or effective for use in preventing, curing, or treating a particular disease or ailment.” It adds that Shopping ads “may disallow the promotion of any dietary supplement, drug, or other product that's been the subject of any government or regulatory action or warning.”

The Misrepresentation policy reaches the same copy from another direction. Its example of a misleading or unrealistic offer is “Miracle cures” for medical ailments, such as extreme weight loss products, and it rules out “Listings promoting harmful health claims, or content that relates to a current, major health crisis and contradicts authoritative scientific consensus”.

In practice the line runs between describing a product and promising a medical outcome. “Contains 500 mg glucosamine sulphate per capsule” describes. “Treats arthritis”, “cures eczema”, “reverses hair loss” and “the natural alternative to your medication” promise, and so do badges such as “clinically proven”, “doctor recommended” or “FDA approved” when nothing on the page shows the study, the doctor or the approval. Claims inside product images count as much as claims in the text.

The free scan flags health, medical and efficacy claims such as “clinically proven” or “cures” that the page does not back up, with the sentence it found, so you know exactly which lines to rewrite. Supplements and cosmetics have their own guides: supplement claims and cosmetics and beauty claims. Every trust check is on the misrepresentation checker.

Typical evidence

The words that turn a product into a medicine

StoreVerifier can surface public descriptions, titles and metadata with medical-benefit language for review. Treating, curing, clinical efficacy and professional endorsement need careful human and policy review.

Health-claim scan · product page4 claims found

“Clinically proven to treat joint inflammation…”

“…and cure chronic pain.”

“Doctor recommended.”

“FDA approved.”

The safe line is the regulator’s line: “Formulated with 500mg glucosamine sulphate per serving.” State what’s in it, not what it does to a disease.

The public signals this check looks for:

“Clinically proven to treat [condition]”, or “cures”, “heals” or “reverses”, anywhere in p…
“Clinically proven to treat [condition]”, or “cures”, “heals” or “reverses”, anywhere in product copy, titles or meta descriptions.
“Doctor recommended” or “as used by physicians” with no named, documented endorsement
“Doctor recommended” or “as used by physicians” with no named, documented endorsement.
“FDA approved”, “MHRA certified” or a similar badge with nothing on the page to show it
“FDA approved”, “MHRA certified” or a similar badge with nothing on the page to show it.
A named condition the product supposedly addresses…
A named condition the product supposedly addresses: arthritis, anxiety, eczema, high blood pressure.
Implied cures that avoid the obvious words…
Implied cures that avoid the obvious words: “say goodbye to joint pain”, “ditch your medication”.
Before-and-after photos promising a weight-loss or hair-growth result as the likely outcom…
Before-and-after photos promising a weight-loss or hair-growth result as the likely outcome.

What it looks like once it is right

“Joint supplement with 500 mg glucosamine sulphate and 400 mg chondroitin per capsule. Take two capsules daily with food. Food supplement; not a substitute for a varied diet.” It says what the product is and does not promise a medical outcome.

Common mistakes

Common mistake

“Clinically proven to reduce joint inflammation and treat chronic pain. Doctor recommended. FDA approved.” Three claims about medical outcomes and approvals, none shown on the page.

Fix checklist

Search product pages, collection text, titles, meta descriptions and image text for: cure, cures, treat, heals, reverses, prevents, clinically, proven, doctor, medical, FDA, MHRA and the names of medical conditions.
Rewrite outcome claims as product facts: ingredients and amounts, what the product is, and how it is used. “Contains 500 mg glucosamine sulphate per capsule”, not “treats joint pain”.
Remove every reference to preventing, curing or treating a disease unless the product holds the government approval that allows that claim, and show the approval where you make the claim.
Where the page says “clinically proven” or “doctor recommended”, link the actual study or name the endorsement beside it. If you cannot, delete the phrase.
Check product images and before-and-after photos for the same claims; a claim in a graphic is still a claim a shopper reads.
Check the product itself against Google's Healthcare & medicines policy: some ingredients and product types cannot be promoted in Shopping ads at all, whatever the copy says.
Send the cleaned wording to Merchant Center too: the titles and descriptions in your product data should make no claim the page cannot support.

What it is, not what it does to a disease

State the contents and the dosage as fact, and let the shopper draw their own conclusion. The instant the copy names a condition it acts on, it crosses the line.

“Each serving provides 500mg glucosamine sulphate and 400mg chondroitin. Treats inflammation and cures chronic joint pain.”

● factual — keep● medical — cut

Questions merchants ask

Can I say a product helps with a medical condition on Google Shopping?

Not unless the product is government approved for that use. Google's Healthcare & medicines policy rules out non-approved, non-prescription products marketed as safe or effective for preventing, curing or treating a particular disease or ailment. Describe the product and its ingredients instead of the condition.

Is “clinically proven” allowed in product descriptions?

Only if it is true and shown. Put the study, or a link to it, on the page next to the claim. Without that, it is a claim of fact you cannot support, which is what Google's Misrepresentation policy means by an offer that is not accurate, realistic and truthful.

Do health claims in product images count?

Yes. A shopper reads a claim in a banner or a before-and-after photo as readily as one in the text, and Google's policies do not exempt images. Check image text and captions with the same search you run on the copy, and replace any image that makes a medical promise.

Remediation

Risk signal

Health copy is where one word changes the category: “contains” describes a product, “treats” sells a medicine. Google's policies rule out the second without approval, and a claim in an image counts as much as one in the text. Write what the product is, and prove anything more.

PriorityTreat this and any other highest-severity findings as first-priority work, then document each fix.

EvidenceRecord the current state before each change, apply the fix, then capture the corrected state so every change is evidenced.

Similar cases

Sources

Last reviewed 23 Sep 2026.

That is one issue. The library documents 134.

The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.