• 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 that say Activia is "clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system in two weeks," and a DanActive TV ad showing a sick-looking boy perking up after drinking the yogurt that states that DanActive is "clinically proven to help strengthen your body's defenses."

The FTC said that Dannon not only lacked substantiation for these claims, but also engaged in deceptive marketing by stating that the claims were clinically proven.

"These types of misleading claims are enough to give consumers indigestion," said FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz, in announcing the complaint and its settlement. "Consumers want, and are entitled to, accurate information when it comes to their health. Companies like Dannon shouldn't exaggerate the strength of scientific support for their products."

Under the FTC settlement, Dannon agrees not to claim that any yogurt product reduces the likelihood of getting a cold or the flu unless the claim is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (the company has said it never made a cold/flu prevention claim), and not to make the regularity/intestinal claims about Activia or other probiotic foods or beverages unless it is clearly conveyed that three servings of the yogurt per day must be eaten to realize these benefits.

In a statement, the company said that "millions of people firmly believe in, benefit from and enjoy these products," and that Dannon will continue to "research, educate and communicate about the benefits of probiotics on the digestive and immune systems."