Actimel earned over €1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) in retail sales in 2006.[1]
History
Actimel was invented in the 1980s when the first steps to developing a fermented milk based on
Lactobacillus casei were already taken.
It wasn’t until 1994 when it was commercially-launched in Belgium. The word Actimel was derived from the Flemish “Actieve melk” which translates simply as Active Milk.
Scientific basis
Claimed benefits range from reducing the incidence of
diarrhea[2][3][4] and
rhinitis reduction for young children,[5] to improvement of the immune function in adults[6] and seniors[7][8] and reduction of duration of winter infections for elderly.[9]
On 23 January 2008, a proposed class action was filed in
California, accusing Danone Co. Inc. of false advertising in their marketing of yogurt containing probiotic bacteria (Danactive & Activia), alleging that the claimed health benefits have never been proven.[11] The company has denied this accusation.[12]
Foodwatch claims that Danone "makes a mountain out of a molehill" in suggesting that Actimel protects from cold and boosts health. Foodwatch believes that the company sells a commodity product as a niche product using branding.[13]
The
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is an independent regulator for advertisements, sales promotion and direct marketing in the UK. According to
Spiegel Online one TV spot from Actimel was blocked by the ASA in 2006 and one in 2008.[14] In the first case the ASA upheld a complaint that the advert misleadingly implied that children given Actimel would be prevented from catching bacterial infections.[15] Meanwhile in the second case complaints about the use of the phrase "Actimel is scientifically proven and you can see that proof for yourself on our website" were upheld as only summaries of, or references to, these studies were present on the website and the full content was not available.[16] A TV advert that stated that Actimel was "scientifically-proven to help support your kids' defences" was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.[17]
Alexa Meyer, from the Department of Nutritional Sciences,
University of Vienna, Austria, comparing probiotic drinks and normal yogurt, found no significant difference in the effect of Actimel and normal yogurt with living bacteria. The nutritional researcher recommends getting enough sleep, washing hands often and eating a daily bowl of yogurt. She says this would activate more active germ-fighting white blood cells, enhancing the immune system, probably due to the presence of
Lactobacillus bulgaricus, from any normal yogurt, which is half the price of Actimel.[18]
The equivalence of yogurts is supported by Berthold Koletzko from the
University of Munich, Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition. In case of diarrhoea, Koletzko advises parents to give their children yogurt with living bacteria. It does not necessarily need to be Actimel, but may also be other yogurts. A measurable health benefit linked to the presence of live
Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii sp. Bulgaricus in yogurt was reported by Koletzko and colleagues in 2005. In this review Koletzko and colleagues say that it was clearly demonstrated that yogurt containing viable bacteria improves lactose digestion and eliminates symptoms of
lactose intolerance, and clearly fulfill the current concept of probiotics.[19]
The net "all-cause" effects of yogurts have also been questioned; its 6 September 2009 issue,
Nature featured an article by
Didier Raoult who claimed that "probiotic-enriched" yogurt beverages may have contributed to the increase in obesity over the past 20 years.[20]
^Pedone CA, Arnaud CC, Postaire ER, Bouley CF, Reinert P (November 2000). "Multicentric study of the effect of milk fermented by Lactobacillus casei on the incidence of diarrhoea". Int J Clin Pract. 54 (9): 568–71.
doi:
10.1111/j.1742-1241.2000.tb10929.x.
PMID11220983.
S2CID756239.
^Pedone CA, Bernabeu AO, Postaire ER, Bouley CF, Reinert P (April–May 1999). "The effect of supplementation with milk fermented by Lactobacillus casei (strain DN-114 001) on acute diarrhoea in children attending day care centres". Int J Clin Pract. 53 (3): 568–71.
doi:
10.1111/j.1742-1241.1999.tb11698.x.
PMID10665128.
S2CID27622450.
^Marcos A, Wärnberg J, Nova E, Gómez S, Alvarez A, Alvarez R, Mateos JA, Cobo JM (December 2004). "The effect of milk fermented by yogurt cultures plus Lactobacillus casei DN-114001 on the immune response of subjects under academic examination stress". Eur J Nutr. 43 (6): 381–9.
doi:
10.1007/s00394-004-0517-8.
PMID15309418.
S2CID42278966.
^Parra MD, Martínez de Morentin BE, Cobo JM, Mateos A, Martínez JA (June 2004). "Daily ingestion of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus casei DN114001 improves innate-defense capacity in healthy middle-aged people". J Physiol Biochem. 60 (2): 85–91.
doi:
10.1007/BF03168444.
PMID15457926.
S2CID22526012.
^Parra MD, Martínez de Morentin BE, Cobo JM, Mateos A, Martínez JA (2004). "Monocyte function in healthy middle-aged people receiving fermented milk containing Lactobacillus casei". J Nutr Health Aging. 8 (4): 208–11.
PMID15316583.
^Turchet P, Laurenzano M, Auboiron S, Antoine JM (2003). "Effect of fermented milk containing the probiotic Lactobacillus casei DN-114001 on winter infections in free-living elderly subjects: a randomised, controlled pilot study". J Nutr Health Aging. 7 (2): 75–7.
PMID12679825.
^Meyer AL, Micksche M, Herbacek I, Elmadfa I (2006). "Daily intake of probiotic as well as conventional yogurt has a stimulating effect on cellular immunity in young healthy women". Ann Nutr Metab. 50 (3): 282–9.
doi:
10.1159/000091687.
PMID16508257.
S2CID2640406.