"DanActive" news and stories

I'm sure you've seen those commercials for Dannon's Activia yogurt, the ones that say that the yogurt contains special ingredients that help with digestion and the immune system. Now those claims are being challenged by a lawsuit.

The lawsuit says that the ad lie and that Dannon's own research doesn't even back up the medical claims. The yogurt costs 30% more than regular yogurts and the lawsuit says that this is unwarranted because the advertising is deceptive. The suit is looking for damages for anyone who bought any of the Activia brands, and they also want Dannon to stop the ads and run a new "corrective ad campaign."

Other brands aren't mentioned in the lawsuit because they don't make the same claims.

Food manufacturers love bacteria, especially probiotic bacteria. The market for products that contain probiotics has really taken off in the past year in the US, after Dannon launched a line of yogurt, Activa, that included them as an aid to digestive regularity. The company's sales soared to over $100 million dollars and other producers quickly scrambled to work probiotics into their own lines, appealing to health-conscious consumers who are interested in improving their diets and lifestyle with food that is good for them, rather than by taking pills as supplements. In other words, probiotics appeal to the American consumer's growing interest in functional foods.

Probiotics are being called "this decade's oat bran," by trendspotters, who are referring to the fact that that grain rose quickly to popularity in the 1980s - and stayed there - when "it was shown to lower cholesterol levels." Oat bran ended up in everything for a very long period and it seems likely that probiotics will, too, provided that the companies that use them can get the same results from the live cultures than Dannon has. Known benefits include relief from irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, and diarrhea, but more claims are being made every day, suggesting "probiotics may help ward off everything from allergies to colon cancer."

For now, most probiotic products are dairy-based, including a TCBY frozen yogurt, StonyField Farm's upcoming dairy-based energy drink and Dannon's Activa and DanActive. There are soy milk products that contain probiotics and Kashi has put it into cereal.

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Food Business Review Online had an interesting piece on 10 trends to watch for in 2007. I was glad to read that healthful food for kids and local sourcing of ingredients made the list. On a separate note, I was especially happy to learn that nutraceutical beer is in the offing.

Here's the full list:

• Calorie burning beverages: Look for more products like Celsius and Enviga that purport to help shed pounds without exercise.
• Satiety-enhancing foods and drinks: Products that increase the feeling of fullness are just starting to hit the market. Among them is LightFull Satiety Smoothie, which is high in fiber and protein, but has only 70 calories per serving.

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 Thanks you all for your recent comments on your experiences with Activia, the new yogurt product from Dannon. The yogurt contains a proprietary probiotic bacteria, Bifidus Regularis, which is supposed to help keep people "regular."  

Probiotics are getting a lot of attention these days for their health benefits. Dannon has been doing a lot of research into probiotics and their benefits, and are introducing another new yogurt product along the same vein as Activia. DanActive, which is a drink, contains the L. Casei Defensis bacteria, which is supposed to help with human beings' immunity.

I haven't tried the product yet, but if I see it in the markets, I'll be sure to pick one up to give it a taste test.