PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on Wednesday dealt French food giant Danone a fresh blow, rejecting a claim that the consumption of the Actimel dairy drink reduced the risk of diarrhoea.
The world's largest yoghurt maker, which is contesting the EFSA opinion, stressed it did not concern current communications for Actimel addressing the public at large nor the sale of Actimel, one of its best-selling products.
Danone said in a statement it would submit arguments to EFSA to back its position within 30 days.
Health claims are keenly followed by investors because they are a powerful marketing tool and allow companies like Danone to charge more for well-differentiated products.
"EFSA concludes that the positive elements included in the application filed by Danone in August 2009 are not sufficient to establish a definite relationship of cause and effect between the consumption of Actimel ... and a reduced risk of diarrhoea associated with the presence in the intestine of Clostridium difficile bacteria for older people undergoing antibiotic treatment in hospital environments," the statement said.
Danone said the EFSA opinion contradicted the findings of a series of clinical studies, of which the most significant was published in the British Medical Journal.
That contradiction also underscored the need for EFSA to clarify the criteria for assessing scientific evidence related to health claims, it added.
In April, Danone withdrew applications for approval of its claims for the benefits of Activia and Actimel, saying there was confusion about what kind of scientific evidence the EFSA required.
This was after several brokers had voiced concern that EFSA might reject Danone's health claims, which could hurt the group's image and stock price.
These applications had focused on claims that the Activia yoghurt aided digestion and Actimel helped strengthen the body's defences.
Activia and Actimel had 2009 combined sales of 3.7 billion euros. This is 43 percent of the sales of the fresh dairy division and 25 percent of Danone's global revenue.
A Danone spokeswoman said there was no decision yet on whether Danone would resubmit these applications. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Will Waterman)