Dannon to Refund $35 Million to Consumers for Misleading Ads for Activia and DanActive Yogurts

If you are among the millions of consumers who bought Dannon Co.-brand yogurts Activia and DanActive, you may be eligible to receive some of the $35 million the company has agreed to pay to consumers because of false advertising that boasted of non-existent health benefits of the products.

Dannon has agreed to establish a reimbursement fund in order to settle a class-action suit brought against it last year. The lawsuit accused the company of lying in marketing the products and promoting health benefits the yogurts did not have.

The White Plains, N.Y.-based food maker denies any wrongdoing in marketing Activia and DanActive and says it only agreed to refund to consumers some of the money they spent on the yogurts “to avoid the distraction and expense of litigation,” according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Labels and Ads to Be Reworded

The company also has agreed to modify the advertising and labeling of Activia and DanActive. The word “immunity” will no longer appear in marketing for DanActive products and mentions of the “probiotic” cultures present in the yogurts will be more prominent, officials said. Also, labels on DanActive that say the yogurt has “a positive effect on your digestive tract’s immune system” will be changed to say the yogurt will “interact with your digestive tract’s immune system,” the Times reported.

How to Get Your Money

Under the refund program, customers who bought Activia and DanActive yogurts will receive up to $100, depending on how much of the yogurt they purchased, according to court documents announcing the settlement and reimbursement fund. Customers will have to fill out a claim form in order to qualify for the payment.

Those forms will be made available once the settlement terms are approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, which presided over the class-action suit.

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