improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . august 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may be in need of reorganization to comply with wikipedia s layout guidelines . please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure . august 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may contain improper references to self published sources . please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources where they are used inappropriately . august 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message actimel website http www.actimel.co.uk actimel also known as danactive in the united states and canada is a probiotic yogurt type drink produced by the french company danone . it is sold in 100ml bottles typically as an 8 6 or 4 pack but more recently as a 12 or 16 pack . the main claimed benefit of actimel is the strengthening of the body s natural defences through the use of patented bacterial culture called lactobacillus casei dn 114001 marketed as lactobacillus casei defensis or immunitas s and more recently as l. casei danone . each bottle is claimed to contain 10 billion of these bacteria . 1 in addition actimel contains the traditional yogurt cultures lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp . bulgaricus and streptococcus salivarius subsp . thermophilus . after the introduction of yakult in europe in 1993 several other companies including danone responded releasing their own l. casei based products . since 1994 l. casei based yogurts have become a common product in west european supermarkets . actimel earned over 1400 million us 1.8 billion in retail sales in 2006 2 and can be found in more than 20 european countries as well as in south america and the middle east . actimel was released as danactive in the united states on a limited regional basis in 2004 flavours strawberry vanilla and blueberry then was given a nationwide launch in 2007 adding the flavour cranberry raspberry . contents 1 ingredients 2 flavours 3 scientific basis 4 debates surrounding health claims on probiotic foods 5 nutrition facts 6 references 7 external links ingredients edit standard actimel excludes variations such as actimel light contains milk fresh powdered sugar sucrose live lactobacillus casei dn 114001 probiotic strain 10 000 million per 100 ml bottle 1 live yogurt cultures flavours edit there are seventeen flavours of actimel these are apricot blackcurrant blueberry coconut kiwi multifruit orange original passionfruit & mango strawberry strawberry & banana vanilla fat free original peach & mango and raspberry . in the united kingdom there is also a limited edition flavour honey & lemon . also the eastern europe s 2016 flavours watermelon blackberry & whortleberry melon cloudberry pomegrante . vitamin c series ; wild strawberries & hips ruby grapefruit kiwi & strawberry . scientific basis edit the main claimed benefits are referenced to several scientific studies listed by the manufacturer on various of its websites . 3 the list of scientific papers differs on each country s website . 4 5 6 claimed benefits range from reducing the incidence of diarrhea 7 8 9 and rhinitis reduction for young children 10 to improvement of the immune function in adults 11 and seniors 12 13 and reduction of duration of winter infections for elderly . 14 some clinical studies suggest potential effects for children such as eradication of h. pylori when combined with antibiotics 15 or restoration of activity of fecal enzymes in children after surgery . 16 a recent study published by the british medical journal 17 suggests that the product could help avoid antibiotic associated diarrhoea and limit clostridium difficile colitis infections in elderly patients . research is ongoing to determine the effectiveness or otherwise of this product in reducing the occurrence of common illnesses in children attending daycare centers in the us . 18 this clinical trial has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov 19 as is now often required for peer reviewed publication in order to decrease the likelihood of null results being unreported but results are not published as yet . debates surrounding health claims on probiotic foods edit see also health claims on food labels 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 . 20 the company has denied this accusation . 21 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 . 22 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 . 23 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 . 24 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 . 25 a tv advert which stated that actimel was scientifically proven to help support your kids defences was banned by the advertising standards authority . 26 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 to get enough sleep wash hands often and eat 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 . 27 the equivalence of yogurts is supported by berthold koletzko from the university of munich metabolic diseases and nutrition munich germany in case of diarrhoea 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 . 28 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 . 29 within the 27 countries of the european union a new health claims regulation was put in place by the european commission as of 1 july 2007 30 under which companies who wish to make claims about the nutritional & functional benefits of a product must support the claims with scientific evidence . 31 in canada a similar regulation is currently in the works at health canada 32 as it plans to update its assessment framework to make the system clearer and the claims more credible . 33 nutrition facts edit danone actimel plain 0 % contains 3.3 g of sugar original plain contains 10.5 g of sugar multifruit contains 12.0 g of sugar for every serving 100 g . none of those concentrations is higher than the level defined as high by the uk food standards agency described for concentrations of sugar above 15 g per 100 g . 34 as a comparison coca cola and orange juices are also in the range of 10 g of sugar per 100 g but with a serving size usually higher than 250 ml the total sugar quantity is much higher . through nutrient profiling guidelines current health claim regulations in the european union may forbid the use of health claim on food products that are nutritionally unbalanced but dairy products and probiotic drinks are likely to be considered favourably because their health benefits outweigh the fact they are high in one of the designated unhealthy ingredients . 35 references edit a b about actimel danone actimel innovation builds a probiotic mega brand . marketresearch.com . 1 may 2007 . archived from the original on 5 march 2011 . retrieved 2012 07 09 . how does actimel help to boost your immune system scientific evidence for children . actimel.co.uk . archived from the original on 7 august 2012 . retrieved 2012 07 09 . 1 dead link actimel ayuda a tus defensas . actimel.es . retrieved 2012 07 09 . danone et vous vos marques actimel in french . danone.fr . retrieved 2012 07 09 . 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 . pmid 11220983 . pedone ca bernabeu ao postaire er bouley cf reinert p apr 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 . pmid 10665128 . agarwal kn bhasin sk december 2002 . feasibility studies to control acute diarrhoea in children by feeding fermented milk preparations actimel and indian dahi . eur j clin nutr . 56 4 56 9 . doi 10.1038 sj.ejcn .1601664 . pmid 12556949 . giovannini m agostoni c riva e salvini f ruscitto a zuccotti gv radaelli g felicita study group august 2007 . a randomized prospective double blind controlled trial on effects of long term consumption of fermented milk containing lactobacillus casei in pre school children with allergic asthma and or rhinitis . pediatr res . 62 2 215 20 . doi 10.1203 pdr .0 b013e3180a76d94 . pmid 17597643 . marcos a w rnberg j nova e g mez 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 . pmid 15309418 . parra md mart nez de morentin be cobo jm mateos a mart nez 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 . pmid 15457926 . parra md mart nez de morentin be cobo jm mateos a mart nez ja 2004 . monocyte function in healthy middle aged people receiving fermented milk containing lactobacillus casei . j nutr health aging . 8 4 208 11 . pmid 15316583 . 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 . pmid 12679825 . s kora j valeckov k amlerov