| Scientist - News - 17-04-2008: Danone pressed to defend its claims Beintema, Nienke Dairy producer Danone was recently confronted with two integrity challenges on two different continents. A US lawsuit challenged the health benefits associated with Dannon’s probiotic yoghurts. Meanwhile, the UK Advertising Standards Authority told Actimel to discontinue a ‘misleading advertisement’. Mother company Danone remains confident and stands by its claims. For Danone, producer of probiotics-containing dairy products such as Actimel and Activia, March was a challenging month. The US branch of the company, Dannon, was faced with a class-action lawsuit – a lawsuit initiated by private individuals on behalf of all other people who have used Dannon products. The lawsuit states that the health benefits associated with Dannon’s probiotic yoghurts, as claimed by Dannon, are insufficiently proven. Therefore, the lawsuit identifies Dannon’s advertisements as misleading. The accuser files for reimbursement for all people who have bought Dannon products, and requires the company to amend its advertising campaigns. Among other things, the lawsuit cites scientific reports that fail to show conclusive evidence that the bacteria prevent illness or is beneficial to healthy adults. "We are confident that all of our advertisements are absolutely truthful," Dannon spokesperson Michael Neuwirth reacts by email. "All of our claims are indeed substantiated by peer-reviewed scientific publications. In fact, the studies cited in the lawsuit do not even mention Dannon." Dannon, as Neuwirth underlines, will challenge this lawsuit vigorously. A verdict has not yet been reached. "These matters can take a long time," Neuwirth writes, "and there is no update to share at this time. In the mean time, we proudly stand by our claims and will continue our current advertising campaigns." Publicly available In an unrelated case, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told Danone to discontinue a ‘misleading’ television advertisement. This stated that "Actimel is scientifically proven and you can see that proof for yourself on our website". In fact, the website only provides abstracts and references, and no full texts of scientific articles. Danone, in its defence, said its website is sufficient to satisfy the expectations of the average consumer. It pointed out that anyone who seeks further information can follow the cited references, all of which are publicly available through other sources, such as the British Library. In light of the ASA judgement, Danone has discontinued its advert – as it is not authorised to provide the full articles on its website. The ASA accepted Danone’s assurance that the scientific studies mentioned on the site are generally available from other sources. More information: www.just-food.com www.reuters.com «Back |