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Home› Food Receipts› Activia Yogurt vs POM Wonderful

Activia Yogurt VS POM Wonderful

Activia Yogurt POM Wonderful
Verdict DROP IT DROP IT
The Reality The FTC's investigation, conducted jointly with 39 state Attorneys General, found that 8 of the 10 scientific studies Dannon relied on actually showed no statistically significant effect of Activia on digestive transit time compared to a placebo. Dannon settled with the FTC in 2011, agreeing to stop using the specific words 'clinically' and 'scientifically proven' in favor of softer language like 'clinical studies show,' and to stop claiming any cold- or flu-prevention benefit unless the FDA approved that specific message. Separately, a parallel consumer class action resulted in Dannon paying up to $45 million in damages, and the FTC settlement included a simultaneous $21 million settlement with the 39 states. An FTC Administrative Law Judge ruled that expert testimony showed insufficient competent and reliable scientific evidence to support these disease-related claims, and the full FTC Commission subsequently found POM had made deceptive claims across 36 separate advertisements and promotional materials. The FTC's Final Order barred POM from claiming any product treats or prevents disease unless backed by two randomized, well-controlled human clinical trials. POM appealed, but the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the FTC's decision in January 2015, and the US Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2016, letting the ruling against POM stand as final.
SHORT ANSWER

Activia Yogurt: The FTC's investigation, joined by 39 state Attorneys General, found 8 of 10 studies Dannon cited for Activia's 'clinically proven' digestive claims showed no significant effect versus a placebo, resulting in a 2011 settlement and a separate $45 million consumer class-action payout.

POM Wonderful: POM Wonderful's claims that its pomegranate juice treats or prevents heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction were found deceptive by the FTC, upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2015, and left standing after the Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2016.