Around the Net

Dannon Faces Suit For Yogurt Health Claims

A federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles claims that Dannon's own studies don't support its claims that its Activia, Activia Light and DanActive yogurts have been "clinically" and "scientifically" "proven" to have health benefits that other yogurts don't. The suit seeks class-action status and demands that Dannon give refunds to everyone in the U.S. who purchased the products--an amount that a lawyer says could be as much as $300 million.

Trish Wiener, who owns a catering company, filed the suit. She claims that the only effect the Dannon brands had on her "was that it tasted poorly." Dannon is able to charge 30% more for Activia and DanActive because of its misleading campaign, according to her lawyer, Tim Blood. Wiener bought the yogurt after seeing ads and spent "more money" than she otherwise would have, he says.

Dannon promotes the yogurts as clinically proven to help regulate digestion and boost immunity because they contain "bifidus regularis" bacteria. Wiener's suit says Dannon's marketing department invented the words "immunitas" and "regularis" and used them because "these names sound scientific."

advertisement

advertisement

Read the whole story at The Los Angeles Times »

Next story loading loading..