Farmers claim Danone "Activia Bio Bifidus" yogurt fails to meet Czech legal requirements for genuine "bio," or organic, food.
Danone, in turn, insists that such assertions are based on a faulty interpretation of a 1997 law specifying only that non-organic products are not permitted to use the word "bio" as a prefix or suffix to other words.
Still, farmers and the Environmental Legal Service have sued Danone, charging the French company with unfair competition and misleading consumers. The Prague Commercial Court is currently reviewing the case.
Although Danone denies any wrongdoing, it has toned down its use of "bio" and it does not claim to make organic yogurt. "Danone never sold, and does not sell, any bio yogurt," said Jean-Baptiste Mouton of Danone's marketing department in Prague.
The company first chose the brand name Bio because it is the Greek word for life, and the yogurt contains a living culture known as Bifidus Activ.
Since 1993, the Czech Ministry of Agriculture has reserved the "bio" label for products made under strict guidelines aimed at protecting the environment and livestock. "Ecofarmers had to invest a lot of effort and money to fulfill the criteria that entitles a farmer to use the bio label," says Pavel Franc of the Environmental Legal Service.
A stricter Czech law covering organic food labels takes effect Jan. 1. It's expected to provide more protection for organic food producers.
-- With wire reports
The writers may be reached at news@praguepost.cz
http://www.praguepost.cz/busi112900h.html
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