Activia, DanActive yogurt buyers to receive refunds in false advertising settlement

Saturday Night Live has spoofed Activia yogurt and its advertisements featuring actress Jaime Lee Curtis hawking the yogurt that supposedly... er, um ... loosens things up for those who eat it.

But Dannon Co., which makes Activia, is going to have to loosen its purse strings after settling a false-advertising lawsuit today. The settlement calls for the formation of a $35-million fund to reimburse those who bought Dannon's Activia and DanActive yogurts.

The class-action lawsuit, filed in January 2008, alleged that Dannon lied when marketing its Activia and DanActive yogurts by promising health benefits that the yogurt didn't really deliver.

Dannon denied the lawsuit's claims and admitted to no wrongdoing as a part of the settlement.

In a statement, Dannon said the decision to settle the lawsuit was based on avoiding "the distraction and expense of litigation."

Dannon also agreed to make changes to the labeling and marketing of its Activia and DanActive yogurts by increasing the visibility on the labels of the scientific names of the “probiotic” cultures in the yogurts, the settlement said.

The word “immunity” will be removed from DanActive labels as a part of the settlement, court documents said.

Labels that say the yogurt has “a positive effect on your digestive tract’s immune system” will be replaced with labels that say the yogurt will “interact with your digestive tract’s immune system,” the settlement said.

But Dannon will still be able to say it has scientific proof that its yogurt has the ability to improve "slow intestinal travel," or bowel irregularity, as long as the label, ad or display also states that such improvement occurs only when "eaten daily for two weeks, as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle,” court documents said.

The refund program for customers who bought Activia or DanActive yogurts will pay up to $100 per customer, court documents said.

To get 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.

Consumers will have 100 days to apply for their refunds from Dannon, which will post claim forms on its website, the settlement said.

San Diego law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, the lead council on the lawsuit, is offering to mail claim forms to consumers who fill out a form on their website.

If any of the $35 million is left over after the customer refunds are paid, Dannon must donate the remaining amount in yogurt to food banks, court documents said.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Photo: Activia yogurt. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Natalie DeJohn]

I smell another SNL spoof in the works...

[Craig Tice]

Wow! Another company hit with a lawsuit that helps nobody but hurts us all. A few partners at the law firm of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins line their pockets and the rest of us pay. Dannon will have to take steps to cover the the $35 million undoubtedly those steps will include staff cuts, smaller or no raises or a raise in prices. The end result is that we all pay. Those of you who participate in this cash grab, including the attorneys, those who file claims and whoever may be named as the lead Plaintiff should be ashamed. Class action lawsuits are one of the reasons we find ourselves in this troubled economy.

[june conner]

I HAVE BEEN EATING ACTIVA FOR OVER A YEAR I HAVE NOT HAD ANY OF THE RESULTS THAT THEY SAID IT WOULD DO.I HAVE JUST RECENTLY STOP BUYING IT.I HEARD THEY WHOEVER WAS OFFERING CASHMONIES BACK IF NOT COMPLETY SATISFIED WITH THE PRODUCT

[ralph j miranda]

i have using activia yougart for the past three months and would like to know how to sign up for the settlement ordered by the courts. please send me the sighup information via email. thank you

[Betty]

Last Feb of 09 is when I bought this and I had issues eating it..it caused some really bad side effects and then about 4 months later I found out I had IBS which the activia made worse when I ate it. I was fine after I stopped eating the stuff. I ate it for about a week. I will never eat the stuff every again...Good for those who eat it is and works but for me it totally didn't work out at all..=)

[ginny pugliese]

I often buy Activia, but cannot say that it is any better than Stonyfield, or
worth its price... have thought to take them up on their refund offer( on the
package) too much trouble, buy it is false advertising?

[ginny pugliese]

I am over 13 yrs of age!