Magnapool Scam - SPASA' s Response

Thanks to some vigilant people I have some more information on the Magnapool Greenwashing Scam and SPASA Qld letter. 

Magnapool are using correspondence from a SPASA Queensland officer as an attempt to vindicate their actions. They have a page on the internet titled "SPASA Qld Investigates and Dismisses Greenwashing Allegations Against Magnapool " The page has a copy of a letter from SPASA Qld which was also posted on the domain forum just before it was suddenly shut down. It would be fair to assume that Magnapool &/or SPASA were responsible for getting the forum shut down due to the fact that they had backed each other into a corner.

As anyone with a gram of grey matter will see the SPASA reply is weak and ambiguous. SPASA has got it wrong on every one of its "appears to be incorrect" comments. 

It is interesting to see that they have removed the name of the person that wrote the SPASA reply but upon further investigation I am told it was most probably David Close an acquaintance of Ross Palmer the owner of the Poolrite/Magnapool brand. I understand David Close recently left SPASA.

The following is a copy of the SPASA letter.

Is there any favoritism or bias that exists between SPASA & Magnapool? 

Later in this post you will see an extract from this years copy of the Queensland Pool & Spa 2012 Edition, a SPASA publication.

SPASA claim that this annual publication is distributed through various sources and every member of the public that makes an enquiry through their organisation will be sent a free copy of the magazine.

The extract in question is designed to explain to less informed readers facets of pool water balance and the different types of sanitising methods available. This type of literature is common place on local authority websites and health department advisory publications, where they are a careful not to promote or benefit individual brands or product names. 

The SPASA article makes no mention of brands except for guess who, yes you got it, Magnapool, who SPASA believe warrant a paragraph all of its own. The scanned upload is not easy to read, the following quote is a copy of the endorsement SPASA have included for Magnapool in the article. 

"Magnapool is an advanced sanitation system based on electrolysing technology delivering an alternative to traditional salt or chlorine dosed pools. Magnapool minerals (rich in magnesium & potassium) are added to the pool water and the Magnapool Hydroxinator generates the sanitising agent in the pool water. This system uses Diamond Kleen media in a high flow rate media filter."

Note comments: "rich in magnesium" and "generates the sanitising agent".

The issue of how "rich in magnesium" along with SPASA's avoidance of the word "chlorine" instead using the word "agent" to promote the system to the readers will be addressed later in this post.

It seems everyone in the industry except SPASA & some Magnapool resellers know that the system is a salt chlorinator. That aside there are many other companies, SPASA members included, using magnesium, potassium, other minerals, glass media and various alternative technologies who apparently in SPASA's opinion don't warrant a mention in this article.

Even more alarming for SPASA members, Sundollar Pools who have an advert on the same page paid $100's possible $1000's for their advert along with the 24 other paying advertisers who are listed on page 2 of this annual publication.  Neither Poolrite or Magnapool are on the list of paying advertisers. Magnapool received free of charge sole brand exposure in an article aimed at potential pool owners looking to gain more knowledge from an organisation claiming to protect their interests. Not????

Take this a step further, SPASA's gets its main income from the annual membership fees paid by its members who come from all areas of the industry including product manufactures, suppliers & resellers who have invested millions some of it in SPASA.

If I were a member selling competing products I would be demanding some answers on this blatant promotion of a competitors product. 

SPASA are actively promoting Magnapool, thereby supporting and adopting the companies deceptive, misleading marketing tactics and the possible offence of "Greenwashing" an existing product. 

When time allows a mass mail out will be sent to all SPASA members to encourage them to level the playing field and get SPASA to have the balls to expose this scam and protect the public rather than braking all the rules to promote it. In the meantime for any doubters I suggest you email SPASA and Professor Ross Barnard for definitive answers to some of the following bullet points. For those that are unaware Professor Ross Barnard, of Qld University is the Professor who Magnapool refer to as the person substantiating their claims of wellbeing and medicinal benefits in their media content and blog posts.

Starting points that should be directed to of all the SPASA state offices and Proffersor Ross Barnard

• Are SPASA &/or Professor Barnard aware of any trials that have been conducted on bathers swimming in a Magnapool treated pool that supports any of Magnapools well-being or medicinal claims as clearly implied in their marketing medias including their website and youtube videos?
• Are SPASA &/or Professor Barnard aware of any independent tests that have been conducted to prove whether  there is any measurable uptake of magnesium, potassium or other beneficial minerals that could lead to improved wellbeing or medicinal claims for a Magnapool bather over an above a swim in a pool using any other recognised pool sanitising system?
• Are SPASA &/or Professor Barnard aware of and tests that have been conducted to prove what percentage of the Daily Recommended Intake (DRI) of magnesium, a bather would expect to absorb through the skin following a 30 minute swim in Magnapool water? 
• Has Proffessor Barnard or his team conducted any trials on bathers using a Magnapool system that would independently back up the companies claims to the benefits as portrayed in their marketing media? 
• Is it correct that Professor Barnard and his students have supplied only anecdotal material/reference  to Magnapool and that no tests have ever been conducted or data compiled on the bather exposure in the Magnapool product?
• Is it correct that none of the Qld University material that Magnapool refer to relates to the low mineral exposure levels a bather would get from a swim in a Magnapool? 
• Magnapool water contains approximately 500 parts per million of magnesium salts. The Dead Sea contains approximately 40,000 parts per million and magnesium infused therapeutic spas and associated product contain 100,000 + parts per million of the mineral. Do SPASA & Professor Barnard agree that for Magnapool to imply their system offers the same benefits as as a swim in the dead sea or soak in a treatment spa is both deceptive and misleading?  
• Magnapool pool water contains around 1% - 2% of the magnisium content of the Dead Sea.  Do SPASA or Professor Barnard have the information of how long a Magnapool bather would need to soak in Magnapool to get the same transdermal absorption as a 30 minute soak in the dead sea?
• Do SPASA & Professor Barnard disagree with my claims that the Magnapools website, videos and other marketing media is misleading and deceptive regarding the references to mineral benefits and the avoidance of the word chlorine? If so on what points do they defend the content?

Enough for now, more to come. Content suggestions welcomed for the proposed mail out to SPASA members. 

Email addresses.

Professor Ross Barnard:  rossbarnard@uq.edu.au

SPASA: info@spasa.org.au  info@spasavic.com.au  spasa@neonet.com.au info@spasa.com.au