Cartons of Dean Foods Co.’s Horizon organic milk fortified with DHA feature a picture of a young girl to illustrate the heart, eye and brain benefits of the additive, referencing the work of a prominent nutritionist.
The problem: the author says her study doesn’t support those health claims, and has joined with the scientific journal that published the work to demand removal of the citation.
“It’s not right — it’s inaccurate,” said Penny Kris- Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State University, who wrote the report. “It’s really a marketing strategy to sell more of their milk.”
It’s not the first time Dean, the largest U.S. dairy processor, has drawn criticism for its advertising and health claims — and Kris-Etherton’s objection may lead to Dean dropping the citation from its cartons. The company last year toned down its advertising about claims made about the brain- supporting attributes of DHA, an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found in oily fish, in response to a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. Dean also is the target of at least five class-action lawsuits filed by consumers alleging that the statement that DHA “supports brain health” is false.
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