Sense about Science is a London-based independent charitable trust whose goal is to promote truth in science, medicine and technology. This month they released a pamphlet, “There Goes the Science Bit…” debunking ‘false health claims’ made by 11 companies, including Pret a Manger, Sainsbury’s, and Nestle.

Biologist, Harriet Ball, on Nestle’s ‘Active8′:

I am increasingly annoyed by the way companies use scientific-sounding language to make the unproven benefits of their products sound credible. Nestlé’s Ski yoghurts were recently rebranded with the claim that they contain “activ8”, a “unique blend of eight b vitamins and minerals, each proven to optimise the release of energy from our diet”. I was initially confused by what these claims meant but on further investigation it seemed areas of accepted science had become confused with claims to improve customer’s lifestyles. I found this irritating, especially because the lazy use of scientific-sounding language can only add to the confusion surrounding healthy lifestyle advice.

The pamphlet is an interesting read and available for download in pdf.

Link (via NewScientist)

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