Dannon Denies False Claims in Yogurt Ads

In an answer to a proposed nationwide consumer class-action lawsuit, Dannon says the ads touting the alleged health benefits of its Activia and DanActive probiotic yogurts are not false and misleading.

The company's advertising campaign featuring actress Jamie Lee Curtis claims that Activia can regulate the digestive system and that DanActive can strengthen the immune system.

The White Plains, N.Y., company markets several varieties of yogurt.

Dannon introduced Activia in February 2006, and DanActive launched less than a year later. The products have earned an estimated $428 million, the suit says.

California resident Patricia Wiener sued the company on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of tens of thousands of consumers who allegedly bought the probiotic yogurts based on the belief that the products supplied health benefits they could not get from regular yogurts.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, says Dannon has no scientific evidence to support its advertising claims.

Clinical studies cited in the ads do not support the company's claims and in some cases contradict them, according to the complaint.

By creating scientific names for the products' ingredients, Dannon is deceiving consumers into thinking they are getting health benefits, the suit says.

The company calls the supplement used in Activia "bifidus regularis" to signify its supposed ability to improve digestive regularity, and the supplement in DanActive, called "L. casei Immunitas," purportedly helps strengthen the immune system, the complaint says.

Even though the products cost 30 percent more an ounce than regular yogurt, the marketing strategy has convinced consumers that the price is worth the unproven added benefits, the suit says.

Although Dannon claims that Activia and DanActive provide health benefits for everyone, its own studies do not support this claim, Wiener says.

The amended complaint cites a June 2006 study by the American Academy of Microbiology that Dannon funded. The study allegedly found "no conclusive evidence that altering the microorganisms of a healthy person is beneficial."

The study also found that some people with certain ailments, such as irritable bowel syndrome, felt worse after eating the probiotic yogurts, according to the complaint.

Wiener alleges that Dannon violated California's consumer protection laws by misrepresenting its products' benefits. She is seeking to recover money damages for the class and an order forcing the company to stop its allegedly false advertising.

In addition to denying the lawsuit's claims, Dannon says the plaintiff suffered no injury or money loss. It also says the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

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Wiener is represented by Timothy G. Blood of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins in San Diego.Dannon is represented by Mark M. Pifko of Arnold & Porter in Los Angeles.