Stuff like this is why I'm skeptical of almost any food that advertises itself as having some magical health benefit. I really hate this type of marketing because the science is always sketchy (if not nonexistent) and it does nothing except confuse and deceive consumers.

I do not understand why Dannon can loose a case for lying while 100s of other companies keep lying in commercials every day.

@threadislocked: Because other people doing wrong does not absolve Dannon of their own wrong-doing.

How will Jamie Lee Curtis stay regular now?

@threadislocked: Because they are "lying" within the confines of the law and putting up the proper disclaimers so that people who actually pay attention will see them. Unlike others who may actually HAVE a study that proves their claim(despite possibly having more saying it doesn't), Dannon had no such study.

Danon also decided to trademark and name a subspecies of bacteria to a name that sounded "good", i.e. "Bifidus Regularis", when it should not be listed as such, but instead be called/listed by it's scientific name. Dannon didn't want to do this because them people would see that it's the same bacteria in other yogurts, and thus lose sales. Rogane, the hair growing drug, is called "Regane" in other parts of the world, but could not be called that in the US because the FTC/FDA said that the name would then be making a promise or suggesting only a positive outcome(thus why drugs have such wacky names).

Dannon just took advantage of the fact that EVERY yogurt is good for your digestive system. In fact you should give your dogs a teaspoon of plain yogurt every day, as well!

I hope this forces them to stop using those stupid trademarked names "bifidus regularus" and whatever the other one they made up. It was massively dishonest towards people who don't know any better.

so, uh, where can i get my monies? because i definitely bought 100 dollars worth of activa

/

@threadislocked: Diet Dr Pepper definitely does NOT taste like regular Dr Pepper.

@SpruceStreetPhil: From the LA Times article above : "To receive the refund, consumers have to fill out a claim form that will be made available once the settlement is approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio."

So yogurt isn't good for you? hmmm...

"interact with your digestive tract's immune system."
Yeah, just like a 3 day old tuna fish sandwich left on the counter will interact with it.

@LupusGray: Yogurt is good for you, but Activia and Immunity by Dannon are no better for you than plain old store brand yogurt.

@ColoradoShark: Actually, the bad tuna sandwich is not far off from the truth. Activia makes you poop because the bacteria in it is a type the body doesn't recognize. To get the foreign bacteria out, the body speeds things up - a very mild case of traveler's diarrhea if you will.

@ColoradoShark: Oh, forgot to cite my source here [www.sciencebasedmedicine.org]

Re: "... increasing the visibility of the scientific names of the "probiotic" cultures in the yogurts," does this refer to the made-up names they used, like something-or-other regularis? I was not aware that these were "scientific" names, or that their probiotics were based on any specific biological agents. I thought it was just a marketing campaign.

@cinlouwho: Exactly. Yogurt is good for people and dogs. A wise old country vet, who was cutting-edge in many ways, always maintained that the #1 solution to an upset stomach was a couple of tablespoons of natural yogurt mixed into their food. And he was right.

Doesn't anything you eat pretty much 'interact with your digestive tract's immune system'?

@PsiCop: Well, PRObiotics just mean it has "biotics" in it, or is a medium which encourages "biotic" growth. So in THAT regard, they are correct. Heck, my sweaty socks are probiotic. Hrmmmmm, I wonder if I can sell socks that encourage biotic growth.....

@bohemian: Aptly pilloried by British comedian David Mitchell as "Bifidus Feelbetterium."

@Julia789: So?

@ryan89: That one totally drives me nuts. Anyone who thinks they taste exactly the same is a complete nut.

@cinlouwho: also i've used for kittens with tummy troubles. although pumpkin works as well and my current kitten likes it better

"interact with your digestive tract's immune system"

A Taco Bell burrito interacts with my digestive tract's immune system also. But not in a good way. :-)

@bohemian:

In Romania their website is talking only about Bifidus ActiRegularis but all their commercials talked about "Bifidus Esensis".. you can see this simply by searching for "bifidus esensis site:.ro"

It's just marketing, no special bacterias or something like that.

I didn't know digestive tracts had their very own immune system!!

don't buy a product because it advertises as being healthy as 99.999999999 + or - 0.000000001% are lies, buy the food that you like because it taste good and offers good value for the taste, if you have to pay extra for the "healthy" then you deserve to get ripped off.

False Yogurt?

@GitEmSteveDave_HasANewNameToday: Please don't. You'll put my sweaty bra-biotic sales out of business.

I'm a little burned out by yogurt myself being that my father worked for a breyers plant for 15 years, but yogurt is yogurt regardless. You want the health benefits? My favorite (seriously) is plain vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries and total cereal in it! Or else, if you have stomach issues, just adding a little fiber to your diet does wonders. I'm partial to the fiber one/fiber plus bars myself, taste good, low calories, and I feel great!

I agree that companies shouldn't advertise health benefits and "trick" the consumer with made-up scientific language. Same with that airborne drug, what a crock. Eat an orange!

@Marius H: Well, it is the bacterium lactobacilis bifidus, and various strains of it that they've given names to. They're present in all yogurt. I'd say they're pretty special, given that they're responsible for many of the cultured milk products that mankind has developed over the centuries.

I bought a 4 pack of DanActive "yogurt shots" on friday to make regular yogurt out of. I heated 5 cups milk to 185 degrees, let cool to 118, then put it in a plastic tub and add half a bottle of DanActive. Then, wrap it in a towel and leave in a warm place for about 6 hours. You end up with 5 cups of DanActive from a single bottle! Chill overnight in the fridge, and its fresh home-made yogurt. Damn good stuff.

Then, I used a few ounces of that to make 5 cups of soygurt from a box of WestSoy milk. I got tired of paying $1.25 for a tiny cup of soy yogurt, and decided to try making it as well. I'll see what that's like tomorrow for breakfast.

@GitEmSteveDave_HasANewNameToday: I took the time to hunt down the studies that were done and which they occasionally cited. Dannon's products were actually less helpful than regular yogurt.

@NewsBunny: Bananas and orange juice interact positively with your immune system.

The changes don't sound like much.

Their promotional stuff smacks of hucksterism. So what else is new? Marketers have been BSing us for many years with unsubstantiated, vague nonsense. It's the American way!

@Major-General: I eat 8oz of lowfat Vanilla yogurt everyday. I buy the 2lb tub of the store brand, and eat 1/4 everyday. Since I started doing that, my stomach and associated body systems have worked a lot better than they did before. I've been eating yogurt daily for about ~3 years now, and compared to previous times, instead of using Pepto to quell my stomach 2-3 times a month, I now only use it every 6 months or so.

@Verucalise(wantsherfigureback): I won't. I love my socks. Right now I'm wearing a pair of toasty wool socks made by Winchester that I bought on sale at Wal*Mart in the hunting department for $2. Also, if you put a sock over a cats head, it walks backwards.

@Verucalise(wantsherfigureback): I used to love the Breyers light, until they shrunk them down to 6oz. How am I supposed to feed a man, two boys, and a women, who's chubby, on some 6oz yogurt?

@ludwigk: I've been wanting to make homemade yogurt for the longest time, but I just feel so nervous about it. Are there any tips you can give, advice about horrible, horrible things that occurred that I can avoid, etc? =)

People that buy it because they want the Bifidus Regularis are the same people that buy Olay with Age Defying Bi-Complex Protease Serum for their faces.

What really matters here is that you get up to $100 for your yogurt. The lawyers probably get about 40% of the $35mil for not really doing much other than signing some people up and filing the paperwork. Danone settles to avoid a court battle over yogurt. That is why America is what it is today. Sue, Settle, Repeat.

They're still pushing this line in the UK. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have complained, but the ASA appear to be dragging their heels over it.

@dragonfire81: And well at least one or 2 lawyers will be able to buy a Gulfstream 5 or two this year thanks to the win.

I know Gulfstream could really use the business.

@cinlouwho: I've even given it to my pet rabbit when she's not feeling so good. She seems to like the stuff, fortunately.

@PsiCop: "cultures" = consumer-friendly way of saying bacteria. Without bacteria we'd not have yogurt. In the case of Bifidobacterium, these are normally found in younger members of the population and are thought to be the sign of a healthy GI tract.

Thus, Dannon decided to throw it in there. BUT, this society, driven by the chemical companies to think bacteria = death meant Dannon probably wouldn't want to plaster "Bifidobacterium" all over the package, thus they changed it to Regularis to sound scientific yet imply it'll make someone shit regularly, not that shitting like clockwork is normal for the human body. Blame Kelogg and his obsession with bowel movements for getting America obsessed with its own.

@runchadrun: haha, i saw the headline and thought "Activia... wasn't there a bit on SNL about that?"

I did some research on this a while ago and found a dearth of real studies. I don't remember the specifics, but my poor memory is that a serving makes you poop 20 minutes faster than you would otherwise. Yup, 20 minutes faster than the usual 20 hours (or something along those lines). That is the only scientifically-supported effect that I have ever heard of with yogurts that contain such branding.
It did not present a good reason for me to want to purchase.

@reynwrap582: Yeah, but it's not a lie, then. (See "puffery")