The Dannon Company Inc. of White Plains is facing a potential class action lawsuit accusing the company of falsely claiming health benefits for its Activia and DanActive yogurt. A Los Angeles law firm yesterday filed the suit in federal court on behalf of plaintiff Patricia Wiener and “tens of thousands of consumers� who have purchased the products. Dannon could not be reached to comment.

Activia, introduced in January 2006, was Dannon’s most successful new product to date, with about $130 million in sales that year. In January 2007, Dannon launched DanActive. oth yogurt brands contain specialized bacteria called “probiotic,� which Dannon has claimed come with health benefits. In the case of Activia, the ingredient is “Bifidus Regularis,� a proprietary probiotic bacteria that Dannon said is “proven� to improve one’s “intestinal rhythm� and “regulate your digestive system,� according to the complaint.  DanActive contains the probiotic bacteria “L. casai Immunitas,� which the company has advertised as “clinically proven to help naturally strengthen the body’s defenses,� the complaint states.

Michael Neuwirth, senior director of public relations for Dannon, said in an interview with The Journal News last year: “Probiotics are a key element of our growth strategy. These are what we call high-health products, and they have clinically proven benefits beyond that of traditional yogurt, most often based on proprietary probiotic cultures found only in Dannon products.�

Dannon sells the product at a 30 percent premium to other yogurts, according to the suit, which also said Dannon has spent $100 million on its marketing. Deceptive advertising has enabled Dannon to sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ordinary yogurt at inflated prices to responsible, health conscious consumers,� said plaintiff’s lead attorney Timothy G. Blood of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP.

A key exhibit in the case is a 2006 study funded by Dannon that showed “no conclusive evidence� of probiotics providing health benefits, according to the complaint. The report, entitled “Probiotic Microbes: The Scientific Basis,� was prepared by the American Academy of Microbiology, a leadership group of the American Society of Microbiology, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit seeks redress for consumers and asks Dannon to pull its marketing messages and “correct the record.� Dannon is owned by Groupe Danone in Paris, which also owns Stonyfield Farms Inc., the New Hampshire-based maker of organic yogurt and ice cream.