• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 15, 2010

In response to Federal Trade Commission charges of deceptive advertising, The Dannon Company, Inc. has agreed to drop certain health claims from its marketing for Activia and DanActive probiotic yogurts.  

Dannon, owned by French food giant Groupe Danone, also agreed to pay $21 million to settle with 39 states that have been working with the FTC—the largest multi-state attorney general consumer protection settlement ever reached with a food manufacturer, reported Associated Press.  The two states that led the marketing claims charges, Oregon and Tennessee, will receive $1.06 million; the rest will be divided among the remaining states.

The FTC's complaint, filed at the same time as the settlement, charged that Dannon's advertising made unsubstantiated claims that DanActive helps prevent colds and flu, and that a single daily serving of Activia relieves temporary irregularity and helps speed intestinal transit time.

Among the ads cited as deceptive by the FTC were Activia's TV ads featuring actress Jamie Lee Curtis, which say Activia is "clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system in two weeks,:  and DanActive TV ad showing a sick-looking boy perking up after drinking the yogurt, which states that DanActive is "clinically proven to help strengthen your body's defenses."