Activia is a Danone brand of probiotic dairy products (known in the USA as Dannon).
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Activia contains a probiotic bacterium belonging to the species Bifidobacterium animalis from the genus Bifidobacterium .
Danone claims that “Bifidus Regularis” or “Bifidus Actiregularis” (both are trademarks of Bifidobacterium animalis ) helps to relieve stomach discomfort [1] .
According to the 2004 data provided by the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, the scientific data on the possible positive effects of probiotics are incomplete, and manufacturers' advertisements about health promotion and the fight against allergies are not credible [2] [3] .
Activia lawsuit against Danone company
The New York Times for January 24, 2008 announced the following: Danone, promoting Activia, announces its miraculous power in an advertisement. On January 25, 2008, the Los Angeles Federal Court (USA) filed a lawsuit against Danone. The statement claims that these statements are simply fooling consumers. The misleading advertisement, the lawsuit of California lawyers said, allowed the company to sell hundreds of millions of dollars of ordinary yogurt at overpriced prices to consumers who were worried about their health [4] .
Defending herself, Danone claimed that clinical trials confirmed the virtues of her yoghurts.
At the same time, the question of the extent to which the bacteria studied during clinical trials are present in the products sold was controversial. In 2006, the American Society of Microbiologists released a report stating that the quality of probiotics available to consumers around the world is unreliable.
In April 2010, after the verification of the “healing properties” of Activia and Actimel yogurts advertised by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) declared in advertising, Danone actually recognized that the yoghurts do not have any special healing properties, and announced a change in its advertising campaigns in France [5] .
Notes
- ↑ Sandler, Lauren Gut Instinct: What health benefits, exactly, is Activia yogurt supposed to offer? (inaccessible link) . Slate (07/03/2008). Archived on October 5, 2009.
- ↑ WHO | Europe Tests Health Promoting Products
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/jul/25/probiotic-health-benefits "Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin said when it reviewed the scientific literature in 2004 and 2005 that the evidence as to whether probiotics actually work was "patchy in relation to the gut and unreliable in terms of improving general wellbeing or helping with allergies."
- ↑ Woman says Dannon overstates benefits of some yogurt products (link not available)
- ↑ Danone tricked shoppers about the healing properties of his yoghurts
Links
- Activia website
- Russian site Danone
- Activia Yogurt Maker Demands to Refute Its Usefulness
- bifidobacteriumanimalis.com - An analysis of the terms Bifidus Actiregularis, Bifidus Regularis, Bifidus Digestivum, L. Casei Imunitass and their options, as well as the marketing strategy, and information about the potential health benefits of live yogurts
- Saturday Night Live skit regarding Activia's laxative effects