Activia

Activia is a low-fat probiotic yogurt-like drink produced by Danone (Dannon in the U.S.), either a semi-solid yogurt or a yogurt drink and sold in small and larger packages in more than 30 countries worldwide. Activia contains the probiotic bacterium "Bifidobacterium animalis".

Activia is available in plain, strawberry, raspberry, peach, mango, oatmeal, pear, walnut, coconut, vanilla, blueberry, prune, fig, pineapple, aloe vera, fibers, fruit of the forest, kiwi cereals and rhubarb varieties, but not all varieties are available in every country.

Danone claims that the "Bifidus Regularis" or "Bifidus Actiregularis" (both are brand names of "Bifidobacterium animalis") helps digestive discomfort and irregularity. [cite web
url=http://www.slate.com/id/2194620/pagenum/all/
title=Gut Instinct: What health benefits, exactly, is Activia yogurt supposed to offer?
first=Lauren
last=Sandler
publisher=Slate
date=2008-07-03]

Activia is in the emerging category of functional foods designed to address digestive health. Such products typically contain a proprietary strain of probiotics and may also contain prebiotics.

Activia in the USA

A lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles federal court on January 25, 2008 said Danone's own studies failed to support its advertised claims. [http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_Dannon_Lawsuit_324926C.shtml] [cite web
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/24/state/n053149S33.DTL&type=health
title=Woman says Danone overstates benefits of some yogurt products
publisher=Associated Press
date=2008-01-24] In a statement in response to the lawsuit, Danone stated that it, "strongly disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit" and that it makes all scientific studies about its products available to the public following the established method of peer-review and publication.

The product's spokesperson is actress Jamie Lee Curtis. A sketch on the television program "Saturday Night Live" featuring comedienne Kristen Wiig as Curtis spoofed the commercials; in the sketch Curtis is unable to control her bowel movements because of eating too much Activia.

References

External links

* [http://www.bifidobacteriumanimalis.com/ bifidobacteriumanimalis.com] - An analysis of the terms Bifidus Actiregularis, Bifidus Regularis, Bifidus Digestivum, L. Casei Imunitass and their variants, as well as the marketing strategy, and information about the potential health benefits of live yogurts.
* [http://www.danone.com/ Danone] - The manufacturers of Activia
* [http://www.dannon.com Dannon] , as Danone is known in the U.S.
* [http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/play.shtml?mea=239693] - Saturday Night Live skit regarding Activia's laxative effects.