medpundit |
||
|
Thursday, December 29, 2005At an investor meeting a little over a year ago, the chief executive of Coca-Cola, E. Neville Isdell, said carbonated soft drinks would be "carriers of health and wellness benefits." But the company has yet to market any such products. Well, mom did used to give us Coke syrup for upset stomachs. They have to walk a fine lawyerly line, however, to avoid running afoul of drug regulations: In making such assertions, companies are dodging Food and Drug Administration regulations that require a rigorous approval process for health claims. Marketers are not required to get agency approval for claims that talk about the body's "normal, healthy structures and functions," only for references to specific diseases or health conditions. As a result, Dannon's marketing promises that Activia will help "regulate your digestive system," but the word "constipation" is not used. Ads and packaging for Elations will refer to "joint flexibility" and "ease of movement," not arthritis. The yogurt has a bacteria in it they call "bifidus regularis" - a name that's been trademarked by Dannon. (It's a propietary strain of bacteria, they say.) According to the New York Times story, it's "part of a class of bacteria that already exists in the digestive systems of most healthy people." I suspect it's a Bifidobacteria, already found in yogurt to some degree. The question is, what's different about the bacteria in the yogurt that warrants a trademark? posted by Sydney on 12/29/2005 08:23:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
|