Milk-Based Cultures in Stonyfield Soy Yogurt

I've seen several questions pop up about Stonyfield's O'Soy Soy Yogurt. Although it's a soy yogurt and none of the ingredients contain milk, the packaging contains a "CONTAINS SOY AND MILK" warning. Why? Because two of the six cultures that they use to make the yogurt are milk-based.

Michelle Civalier went the extra step and called the company in concern.

The representative informed me that this specific product has six probiotic cultures, two of which are grown in milk. (The details are proprietary, however, the spokeswoman did say there is no alternative method of growing those two cultures at this time.) The cultures ingest lactose, casein, and milk protein, meaning that those three things should not be present in the final product. What’s left of the milk after those parts are removed is present in the yogurt in amounts no greater than 5 ppm (parts per million). Stonyfield does not believe that these levels are high enough to cause a reaction in most sensitive or allergic people, but if there is concern, please consult a doctor before eating any of the product.

It's true that I've never heard of a documented reaction from anyone eating an O'Soy product. From the description given only the most extremely allergic would have even the possibility of a reaction. I'm sure most parents of allergic children would be concerned deposit this.

Civalier was. She asked:

Stonyfield promised to send my complaint to product development, though that didn’t provide me with any satisfaction as to why cultures that require milk to grow are being used in soy yogurt.

That's an interesting question. I haven't found any other soy yogurt to use milk-based cultures. They all claim to be dairy free. The Nancy's Yogurt FAQ page even explicitly states:

My son is allergic to dairy. Which of your products are completely casein-free?

All of our Organic Cultured Soy products are completely casein and dairy-free. We use nondairy cultures to culture our soy yogurt.

So it's not necessary to use milk-based cultures in soy yogurt. It's a choice that Stonyfield makes. Thus far it's been a successful choice, but it's one you need to think about.

You can find soy yogurts on the Nondairy Milk Alternatives - Other Nondairy Products of my Product Clearinghouse. I've made a note to the O'Soy Yogurt listing that states that it's made from milk-based cultures.

Alpro Adds New Dairy-Free Yogurt Product

I've mentioned the UK firm Alpro several times before, notably in Dairy-Free Alpro and in More Soy Yogurt, English Style.

Apparently Alpro's efforts have come to financial fruition. TalkingRetail ("the hub for grocery retail) reported that:

Alpro soya dominates the £103m dairy free category with a 64%* share and is the only brand to have a range of products in each of the dairy free category's main fixtures, including fresh and UHT milks, cream, yogurts and desserts.

And that news is usually the prelude to expansion. Which it is.

Alpro soya is expanding its comprehensive range of yogurt alternatives with the launch of a vanilla 500g pot. The vanilla variant will tap into the buoyant ‘active health' yogurt category, which is growing at +27%* (by value). ...

The new 500g vanilla yogurt will launch in Sainsbury's, and Waitrose from April with a RRP of £1.29

Whole Soy Yogurt Review

Tasting reviews of milk alternative products are all too rare, so I was pleased to run across a review of Whole Soy yogurt on FitSugar.com.

If you're used to regular cow's milk yogurt, then Whole Soy yogurt will definitely be a change. When you take your first bite, it tastes more sweet than tangy. The consistency is a little different too. It's not as runny as regular yogurt can be, but I really enjoyed the thick and smooth quality. Plus I liked that it wasn't at all gritty or chalky, like some soy products can be. The flavor is very mild, so it's perfect if you like to mix in fruit, nuts, or granola. Although it contains more calories than cow's milk yogurt, it also contains less sodium and sugar. I was also surprised to see that compared to regular yogurt and another brand of soy yogurt, Whole Soy contains the most calcium.

And yes, it's vegan.

Whole Soy & Co. makes lines of soy yogurt and soy frozen yogurt. (They're not related to the Whole Foods Market chain.) Their soy yogurt comes in Plain, Peach, Vanilla, Strawberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Lemon, Blueberry, Apricot Mango, Strawberry Banana, and Mixed Berry flavors.

Chr. Hansen Launches Dairy Free Probiotics

Chris Hansen is the guy on Dateline who traps pederasts, right? What is he doing with probiotics?

Oh, Chr. Hansen. The Danish company Chr. Hansen. The company that proclaims right on its website that nobody knows its name.

Chr. Hansen is a very special kind of company. Virtually unknown outside our specialised field, several hundred million people around the world enjoy our products every day in the foods they eat.

Their specialty includes cultures and enzymes and all the building blocks of industrial food technology.

Their latest sounds good from the prospective of the lactose intolerant and milk allergic and vegan populations.

Probiotics and cultures guaranteed free from dairy ingredients developed for soy yoghurt and other non dairy products.

Now, in an attempt to help foodstuff producers meet a rising consumer demand for soy-based products, Chr. Hansen introduces the popular BB-12® and LA-5® probiotics in dairy free versions.

...


Free from cholesterol and lactose soy-based foodstuffs have significant health benefits. Moreover, according to Morten Boesen, Marketing Manager, Yoghurt Cultures, Chr. Hansen, adding dairy free ingredients can also improve the soy-based product. “The new dairy free fermentation cultures are optimized for soy-based production and, as a result, they can contribute to better dairy free products,” he explains.

Consumers in Europe, the UK, and possibly elsewhere should be seeing more of these products on store shelves in the near future. Maybe even here in the western hemisphere since they have two U.S. plants in addition to eight in Europe and two in South America.

More Soy Yogurt, English Style

Just a week ago I wrote that Turtle Mountain was launching a line of soy yogurts.

Now comes word that the UK firm Alpro is, guess what, launching a line of soy yogurts.

It's officially a trend! There'll be a cover story in Time within a week!

TalkingRetail.com is the enabler for Alpro's press release:

Alpro soya is launching the UK's first reduced calorie soya alternative to yogurt. The launch of Light yogurt follows the successful 2006 launch of Alpro soya Light reduced calorie soya milk.

Alpro is once again driving the dairy free category. “Dieting is still important to consumers, but their outlook has changed quite dramatically in recent years,” commented John Allaway, Alpro’s commercial director.

“Consumers no longer want faddy and extreme, ‘get thin quick’ diets but rather want to achieve good health through the consumption of products which have wider health benefits such as soya.”

“Alpro soya Light milk has been extremely popular. We want to expand on the success of it and give consumers what they want in terms of yogurt: the health benefits of soya, with less fat, sugar and calories, combined with great taste.

“We are confident that the Light yogurts will be a success and believe they will, like Alpro soya Light milk, help attract new consumers and grow the dairy free category.”

As well as being reduced in calories, the new Light yogurts are naturally low in saturated fat and are free from artificial colours, preservatives or sweeteners. Available in 4 x 125g packs containing 2xRaspberry/Blackberry and 2x Pineapple/Passionfruit varieties.

The Light yogurts will be available initially in Tesco and Waitrose, RRP is £1.59 and the launch will be supported by a high profile marketing campaign.

A Turtle Mountain of Soy Yogurt

I just wrote about the Turtle Mountain lines of nondairy soy frozen desserts a month ago. Now they're back in the news again.

With a brand new line of nondairy soy yogurts under the SoDelicious brand name.

Comes in Blueberry; Cinnamon Bun, Peach, Raspberry; and Vanilla flavors.

Yep, they're vegan. And a whole bunch of other things.

► Dairy Free Lactose Free
► Certified made with Organic Ingredients
► Excellent source of Vitamin B12 (vegetarian friendly)
► All natural, made with organic soy milk
► Formulated for maximum calcium absorption
► Contains Pre- and Probiotics for enhanced intestinal health
► Cholesterol Free
► No Trans Fats

You can request a coupon for the new yogurts and the other Turtle Mountain products on this page.