Now Contains BS Regularis!

I was reading my email this morning over breakfast and came across the following headline:

Dannon to pay $35M in yogurt settlement.

I started to feel a little uneasy as I dipped my spoon back into the Activia yogurt (made by Dannon Co) I was enjoying on my cereal. What had happened? It appears that this lawsuit was filed in the US back in 2008 against Dannon Co over the overstatement of the health benefits associated with Activa & DanActive yogurt. Phew, I wiped my brow realizing I was not about to die from a tainted vanilla yogurt and I read on...

The lawsuit centered on misleading information used in the marketing of the yogurt. In particular, the names of the active probiotics in the yogurt were of concern. It appears that Dannon Co trademarked the names BL Regularis and Casei Defensis for the promotion of their product. In fact, the products contained subspecies of the less 'scientific' sounding Bifidiobacterium animalis and Lactobacillus casei bacterial cultures, which they developed and patented. Sounds more like BS Regularis to me.

Major problem? Consumers were mislead by the terms 'regularis' and 'defensis' into thinking that this product is superior to other yogurts containing probiotic cultures. Thus, consumers were lured into wasting their hard earned money on yogurt that was really no better than the next - although I'd argue that the Activa pear yogurt is the best tasting yogurt ever invented...but that is besides the point! This lawsuit centered around the misleading marketing of the product. Interestingly, upon further investigation I found the bogus probiotic info can still be found on the Canadian & American Activa websites....you'd think this would have come down by now!

The settlement, which still needs to be improved will also include changes to the current labelling & marketing that will increase the visibility of the scientific names of the true strains of probiotics that are in the products. Changes will also include removal of the word 'immunity' from statements such as this one which is found on DanActive products in the US: "it has a positive effect on your digestive tract's immune system".

What does the spokesperson for Dannon Co have to say for itself on the matter?

The decision to settle this case is based on the Company’s desire to avoid the distraction and expense of litigation and to quickly resume 100 percent focus on making products that provide proven health benefits to millions of highly satisfied consumers. This resolves the plaintiff’s concerns while affirming the essence of the claims of Activia and DanActive, which are substantiated by years of scientific research. - Michael Neuwirth

So, Dannon doesn't think they did anything wrong. Shocking! But they'll be paying for what they did. To the tune of a reimbursement of up to $100 US for qualified consumers who purchased Activia & DanActive yogurt. How exactly this will be conducted has yet to be released since the settlement still needs to be approved. Once approved info regarding the settlement will be found at http://www.dannonsettlement.com/. Let's hope this case serves as the tipping point sparking needed changes to other misleading marketing campaigns still out there!