Activia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Activia is a low-fat probiotic yogurt produced by Danone (Dannon in the U.S.) and sold in pots of 125 g. Activia contains a biological culture that Danone has branded with the names Bifidus digestivum (UK), Bifidus regularis (US), Bifidobacterium Lactis (Canada), Bifidus Essensis (Germany, Austria and Czech Republic) and Bifidus Activo (Spain and Portugal). It also contains vitamin B12 and calcium.
Activia is available in strawberry, peach, pear, coconut, vanilla, blueberry, prune, fig and rhubarb varieties.
Danone claims that the 'good bacteria' in the yogurt can help digestive discomfort and regularity but many people criticize it for just being an advertising ploy. Indeed, there is some evidence that yogurt cultures can improve digestion and health, but Danone has come under criticism for appearing to have invented and trademarked fake Latin names for bacterial cultures. For example, they claim the culture "Bifidus Regularis" is not available in any other yogurt in the world. It should be noted that in a recent (Augst 2006) issue of Consumer Reports, it was reported that only .1% of the live cells ingested in a serving of Activia survived passage through the stomach. So only 3 million of the ingested 3 billion cells made it through to the gut alive.
Activia has been sold all over Europe for many years, and now has entered USA with an aggressive ad campaign.
[edit] External links
- Bifidusdigestivum.com - A deconstruction of the terms Bifidus Digestivum, Bifidus Regularis, L. Casei Imunitass and their variants, as well as the marketing strategy, and information about the potential health benefits of live yogurts.
- Danone - The manufacturers of Activia
- Homemade yoghurt cultured from Activia
