Dannon's Activia, DanActive health claims draw $21M fine



By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY


The federal government appears poised to take a far more aggressive watchdog role under the Obama administration over deceptive ad practices.


Dannon, part of the world's biggest yogurt maker Danone, agreed to pay a $21 million fine and stop making exaggerated health claims for two popular Dannon products under a settlement with the federal government and attorneys general from 39 states on Wednesday.


It follows Monday's $2.1 million FTC settlement with kids-vitamin maker NBTY over unsupported health claims and because the products didn't have the amount of omega-3 claimed.


"It's a shot across the bow that food marketers are going to have to stop using unsubstantiated health claims as marketing tools," says New York University nutritionist Marion Nestle. "The claims aren't about health, they're about marketing."

Yogurt is a $4.2 billion-plus business in the USA, with sales up 8% over the past year, says researcher SymphonyIRI Group. The two Dannon products cited by the FTC both contain beneficial bacteria know as probiotics. But, Nestle says, "Yogurt is just food. It's not a miracle. No food is a superfood."


The government says Dannon will stop claiming that one daily serving of Activia yogurt relieves irregularity and that DanActive helps people avoid catching colds.

"These types of misleading claims are enough to give consumers indigestion," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz says. "Companies like Dannon shouldn't exaggerate the strength of scientific support."


In Dannon's case, some say, it's too little too late.

"Dannon's had so much television exposure of these claims that people will still believe them," says Katharine Paine, a corporate image expert. "They've already got the perception in the minds of consumers that this stuff is good for them."

The FTC charged that Dannon's ads were deceptive because it did not have substantiation. The FTC also charged that Dannon's claims that Activia and DanActive were clinically proven were false.


In one ad for Activia, actress Jamie Lee Curtis reassures viewers that eating Activia can help people who suffer from irregularities.

"I am proud of my association with Dannon, and I am reminded daily by consumers of the help that Activia has brought them," the actress said Wednesday via her publicist, Heidi Schaeffer. Curtis is still doing the ads and eats Activia regularly. Despite the settlement, Dannon was disputing some FTC claims on Wednesday. "We never made a claim that eating DanActive helps prevent colds or flu," spokesman Michael Neuwirth says. "We respectfully disagree."