Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets:

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:



	June 30, 2013		December 31, 2012
Advance payment to suppliers	$	507,780	$	223,267
Prepaid income taxes	355,133		303,983
Advances to Associates	219,000		—
Certificates of deposit - restricted	80,852		85,357
Prepaid insurance and other	422,791		220,851
	$	1,585,556	$	833,458

At June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the Company held certificates of deposit in the amounts of approximately $81,000 and $85,000, respectively, which were pledged to secure surety bonds.

During the first six months of 2013, the Company entered into agreements with an Associate to market Nutritional Products in Australia and Hong Kong. Pursuant to these agreements, the Company made cash advances to this Associate to support marketing activities and fund costs related to the opening of an office facility in Hong Kong. These advances do not bear interest, and will be recovered from marketing fees calculated as a percentage of sales that are earned by the Associate in these markets. Net advances outstanding as of June 30, 2013 were approximately $326,000. Of this amount, $219,000 was classified as a prepaid expense representing the portion of the advances that the Company expects to be received over the next 12 months. The remaining balance is included in other assets. See Note M for additional information related to these advances.