Recently, Shanghai Pudong Market Supervision Administration imposed a 450,000 yuan penalty on Shanghai Yiliduo Dairy Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of Yakult, on the ground that the Yiliduo exaggerated the function of probiotics in prevention and treatment of Covid-19. 

The illegal facts of Yiliduo include: before epidemic in China was under control, it publicized that "probiotics play an important role in the prevention and treatment of coronavirus" and cited the "Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Pneumonia Caused by Novel Coronavirus Infection" as the basis, which may easily draw consumers' attention and gain trust in Yakult lactic acid bacteria products, and the consumer may mistakenly think that probiotics have preventive and therapeutic effects on Novel Coronavirus; it made propaganda that "the beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract will be lost with the normal excretion of the human body, so it is necessary to supplement active probiotics every day to maintain the balance of intestinal flora", which will make people mistakenly think that not taking probiotics every day will have adverse effects on the body; it also boasted that "a small bottle of Yakult contains more than 10 billion Lactobacillus casei substitutes, and one bottle every day can meet the probiotics needed by adults", which will make people mistakenly think that drinking one bottle of Yakult lactic acid bacteria every day will meet the probiotics needed by human body, while ignoring the supplement of probiotics of other varieties except Lactobacillus casei.

The publicity behavior of Shanghai Yiliduo Dairy Co., Ltd. may help to increase the sales volume of Yakult lactic acid bacteria, gain competitive advantage, and eliminate or hinder the competition of other kinds of probiotic drinks. 

According to Article 20.1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, "Where, in violation of Article 8 of this Law, a business conducts any false or misleading commercial publicity of its commodities or help another business conduct any false or misleading commercial publicity by organizing false transactions or any other means, the supervisory inspection department shall order it to cease the illegal act, and impose a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan nor more than one million yuan or if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than one million yuan nor more than two million yuan on it, and in the latter case, its business license may be revoked", Shanghai Pudong Market Supervision Administration imposed the penalty totaling 450,000 yuan.