Food Babe Family - Header

How Frozen Yogurt Went Bad

Before you start the enjoying the hot weather and cool treats this summer – there’s something I have to tell you, but you first have to promise not to kill the messenger (me!).

Commercially available frozen yogurt is one of the most processed food products on the planet!
Yes – you heard that right – that creamy, low calorie, probiotic promised goodness swirled into your cup and topped with your favorite goodies is one of the worst “healthy” fads to hit the franchise market, and I’m here to tell you the cold hard facts (ha! – no pun intended).

Frozen yogurt is made with several components:  (Unlike real yogurt that is made with just two ingredients – milk + cultures)

  • milk solids, processed milk product (like powdered or condensed milk) and/or milk fat
  • some kind of refined sweetener – usually a few different kinds like evaporated cane syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, etc.
  • yogurt culture (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are common cultures)
  • natural or artificial flavorings
  • natural or artificial coloring
  • sometimes trans fat
  • sometimes preservatives
  • stabilizers and thickeners like guar gum or carrageenan
  • other fillers like cellulose gum (a.k.a. the stuff made from wood pulp)

Before the mixture is frozen into an edible product, the yogurt ingredients come in a big box of pre-made liquid or powder. This is very similar to how most fast food franchises obtain their products – in a box or a carton pre-made, pre-mixed, heavily processed and preserved. In fact, most frozen yogurt companies buy their formula mix from the same manufacturer and at a very cheap cost, about 10 cents per serving – and sell it to you for a 500% markup! To witness just how processed frozen yogurt can be, I challenge you to go over to your favorite frozen yogurt joint and ask them how they make their yogurt. They’ll show you the pre-packaged liquid or powder they mix with water that they throw right into the machine – pre-packed liquid that looks NOTHING like yogurt and more like kool-aid, depending on the flavor in a plastic jug. It’s a rather disgusting sight to tell you the truth, and an exercise I conduct on occasion to remind myself not to eat that stuff.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular brands of yogurt available and what they contain.

Guar gum is an ingredient that is used in all the brands featured below (Pinkberry, Menchies, Yogurt Mountain, TCBY, Red Mango and Yoforia) that you may have heard of and wondered about. It comes from ground up guar beans, which technically aren’t bad for you, but when highly processed into gum it can contain an extraordinary amount of soluble fiber that can reduce the absorption of important vitamins and minerals in your body 1. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg considering what’s really in these frozen yogurt products…
Red text indicates potentially harmful ingredients and/or ingredients likely to contain GMOs.
Pinkberry started its business by selling a yogurt like substance, claiming health benefits of probiotics and live cultures. In 2007, the LA Times sent samples of Pinkberry’s product to get tested, revealing that Pinkberry did not contain enough active cultures to be considered yogurt by California law. It wasn’t until a law suit that Pinkberry eventually came clean about their ingredient list and changed their formula so their products could be called real yogurt.

Today Pinkberry’s ingredients are available online like most retailers. The Cookies and Cream flavor has TBHQ (commonly used in varnishes, lacquers, pesticide products, cosmetics, and perfumes – not something I want to be eating), GMOs (corn flour, soy lecithin, dextrose, maltodextrin) and carrageenan, which can cause stomach inflammation. These ingredients make this product far from healthy. In addition, they do not use organic dairy, which is #1 on my organic shopping priority list because conventional dairy comes from cows on a mostly GMO filled diet, injected with growth hormones and/or antibiotics.

Slide6
Red text indicates potentially harmful ingredients and/or ingredients likely to contain GMOs.

It was shocking to find so many different kinds of sugar (including corn syrup) and artificial food dyes in the “Fancy French Vanilla” at Menchies and “Old Fashioned Vanilla” at Yogurt Mountain. I thought getting the vanilla flavor would be about as plain Jane as you can get, but apparently these yogurt chains feel the need to color their vanilla to make it white. Unfortunately, this is a common technique the food industry uses to disguise inexpensive, chemically processed ingredients as real food. When you see artificial colors or flavoring in a product it is a huge warning sign that what you are eating is not real food.

Red text indicates potentially harmful ingredients and/or ingredients likely to contain GMOs.
TCBY – famously known as “The Country’s Best Yogurt” – is actually one of the worst, using the ingredient propylene glycol in almost all of their yogurts. Propylene glycol is a solvent no one should be ingesting.
Red text indicates potentially harmful ingredients and/or ingredients likely to contain GMOs.
Luckily, Red Mango is realizing the importance of probiotics to their customers and using strains that can survive the freezing process. However, the way they make their yogurt is still very questionable considering that the “Caribbean Coconut” flavor actually contains ZERO coconut. Which is not the least bit surprising when you examine the ingredient list closely and find the words “natural flavors.” These flavors are created in a laboratory and there’s no way to figure out what’s actually in them by just looking at the ingredient list. They can be created by anything “natural” found on earth (in some cases that could be beavers’ anal glands for a “natural” strawberry flavor!). Food scientists create specific flavors to trick your brain into enjoying a processed product more than you should or trick your brain into thinking a product has an ingredient that it actually doesn’t have.
Red text indicates potentially harmful ingredients and/or ingredients likely to contain GMOs.
Yoforia uses organic milk (which is FANTASTIC) but then they go and totally screw up a beautiful thing by putting all sorts of other additives in their yogurt, including artificial food dyes, GMOs, and trans fat. This is one of the worst abuses of marketing I’ve ever seen, which motivated me to write several posts about this company and demand changes from their CEO. While they did release their ingredients online after our conversations, they have not changed their product to fit their marketing in their stores.

How To Get Your Frozen Yogurt Fix

Besides all of these chemically made processed ingredients, you have to remember that almost all frozen yogurt has an extraordinary amount of refined added sugar – that’s how they get away with feeding you a non-fat/low-fat product that actually tastes good. Frozen Yogurt was actually invented in the 1970′s as a healthier alternative to ice cream, but food manufacturers found they had to cover up the tart flavor with lots of sugar in order for it to be mass marketed and to taste just as good as ice cream – totally defeating it’s original intent!

With that said, the option least damaging to your health is plain frozen yogurt (tart flavor) with no added flavoring (not the vanilla flavor, because it could likely have additives and/or be artificially colored as noted above). You can add fresh fruit or nuts to it that are commonly found at the topping bar, which are the best real food options. But remember if you decide to go this route, you still have the risk of consuming non-organic dairy and other preservatives. Personally I think choosing the plain tart frozen yogurts is no fun considering they taste pretty boring and too “healthy,” and seeing all the other options can be too tempting for me to even go visit in the first place. Always ask to see the ingredient list before you buy because 9 times out 10 that makes the decision to say no to that craving easier. Please note, recombinant bovine growth hormone (a.k.a. rbGH) found in milk won’t be included on the list of ingredients, so specifically ask about this too, which is outlawed in 27 countries and study after study links it to many forms of cancers.

Personally, I don’t see the need to eat frozen yogurt as a dessert or to get my probiotics (I get them through a daily supplement and lots of fermented vegetables like kimchi). When I want a dessert I go for the real full fat thing and I usually make my own frozen treats to avoid additives. This is my favorite quick and easy recipe for ice cream that un-junks three of my old favorite flavors from Baskin Robbins – Cookies & Cream, Pistachio Almond and Mint Chocolate Chip – and it can be ready in just 25 minutes! 
coconut icecream
If you know someone who loves frozen yogurt and real food, please share this post with them!

Love,

Food Babe

Food Babe Family - Book
Food Babe Grocery Guide

Sign Up For Updates

And Get A FREE Healthy Grocery Guide Sent To You Now!

Find out what to buy and where at the top grocery stores near you

Posts may contain affiliate, sponsorship and/or partnership links for products Food Babe has approved and researched herself. If you purchase a product through an affiliate, sponsorship or partnership link, your cost will be the same (or at a discount if a special code is offered) and Food Babe will benefit from the purchase. Your support is crucial because it helps fund this blog and helps us continue to spread the word. Thank you.

82 responses to “How Frozen Yogurt Went Bad

    1. HiJeremy – We can’t look at every one but my guess is that they are all similar. Look at the ingredients and you’ll know.

      1. In some contries this is not regulated, I live in Mexico and product like this aren’t obligated to disclose this info :C

  1. Oh no, and I just started trying the yogurt from these places. And, it is VERY expensive, so I thought what I was getting was real yogurt…not junk. Guess they are off my list now.

  2. What about Peachwave? They are everywhere. Do you know anything about their products?

  3. Do you have an email address that you can share with the public so when we find out things we can share them with you by email instead of posting them on your facebook wall? I have something I want to share with you about the company, Knorr.
    Thanks!

    Michelle

      1. I’m still not finding it. There’s a comment page on foodbabe.com? Can you leave a link to the right page. Sorry. I’ve looked everywhere. This is why sometimes post things on her facebook page because even there, I don’t see a way to message her directly..

        Thanks!
        ~Michelle

  4. Frozen yogurt sold by stores and frozen yogurt shops being very poor in nutrition, high in chemicals and artificial flavorings and very misleading. I started making frozen yogurt at home this year. I use my own homemade yogurt most of the time. I put in fresh ingredients or fruit I have personally frozen. I want to know what is in my food. I prefer no chemicals at all. Doing what we can with the food we can control is greatly beneficial to our health. There are times we will eat out at restaurants or eat at friends’ houses and we cannot control that. We make a commitment to do what we can.

  5. Everyone, if you want to educate yourself about processed foods and how harmful they are to your health, please read “Death by Supermarket” :the fattening up, dumbing down and poisoning of America by Nancy Deville. Eyes wide open!!!
    The problem isn’t so much the consumption of one processed food occasionally but they ARE everywhere and there in lies the problem. Probably, without you knowing, you are consuming too many of them in a single day.

  6. I agree with you Food Babe that we should be careful of eating many processed foods but I also agree with Melissa that not all processed foods are bad… and my own caveat would be: especially in moderation. A whole foods diet is your best bet, for sure… but a wisely chosen, minimally processed treat now and then, will do no harm.

  7. First of all, if you so vehemently disagree with Food Babe, why are you following her page? Just to bash her?
    And I realize there is a TON of research on processed foods and why it is or isn’t bad for us, but seriously? Trying to convince most of Food Babe’s readers or her that processing is actually a good thing? Well, good luck with that!
    Secondly, while I certainly slip up and enjoy things I grew up eating, I am realizing more and more, there is no such thing as moderation with processed foods. You may think it is a once-in-a-while treat, but do you realize just how much has these harmful ingredients and additives in it?? It is quite literally, everywhere! Even things marketed as healthy, whole food, or even organic contains ingredients like maltodextrin.
    How do you make that “organic?”
    Not to mention eating these things triggers your brain to crave them again.

    No one will ever convince me it is ok to eat Maltodextrin (and the others she listed; carrageenan is a known carcinogen BTW) in any amount because I have done my own research.
    I recommend everyone do his or her own research, but the findings can be shared in a caring and factual way, not by bashing those who have a different opinion!

  8. I don’t know Melissa’s reasons for being on this site, as someone asked, but I know why I’m here. I read to improve my knowledge. Food Babe has some interestiing theories and I consider these, but I also expect to learn from other people at other sites, whose wisdom, education, could be greater. I need to analyze the latest findings. But one thing I will NEVER do, is accept – sheeplike – everything that’s presented to me. We have become far too quick to jump onto the latest guru’s thinking, instead of thinking for ourselves. Thanks for being here with the OTHER side of the argument, Melissa.

    1. We absolutely encourage everyone to do their own research and come to their own conclusions… Knowledge is power!

    2. Fran,

      This is basically my whole point. There are so many different people saying so many different things that I find it hard to understand how anyone could trust, whole-heartedly, one specific set of ideas. And I hate how people want to throw ONE reason at me for why they feel the way they do. “Oh, God made it, that’s how we should eat it.” That also means not eating cooked, seasoned, or leavened, among other things. And the things extracted from what God gave us (sugars, etc.) are a part of the whole thing, it’s just taken out of it. You’re still getting corn’s sugars when you eat corn on the cob. “Oh, there’s research to support that carrageenan is a carcinogen.” You know what else is a carcinogen? Air. The sun. So really, I think it’s all a bunch of crap. Yes, eat healthy. But that doesn’t mean that a few indulgences here and there are going to kill you. And if we’re going to avoid everything that’s harmful, then we need to start building bubbles or something because it’s impossible.

      1. Melissa,

        You do make a good point that almost everything available in the major supermarket chains is processed at least to some degree. Also, I think you are right in your judgement that taking the good-stuff out of a plant and ingesting the concentrated form can have more benefits than eating the raw plant.. What I like about Vani’s posts and videos is the awareness and attention she gives what the food industry tries to hide. How many people go into a McDonald’s or Burger King and expect the 100% beef or “two all beef patties…” to contain less than 10% cow muscle tissue? What’s in the other 90%? I want to know, which is why I’ll continue to read and support foodbabe.com. Getting back to your points though, it’s all about moderation and awareness. Maybe someone (like me) will decide to buy fresh ground beef instead of grabbing a pink-slime sandwich (advertised as a hamburger) at the closest drive-through window. Posting information that leads to healthier food choices is a public service, and I appreciate the work put into this website to keep us informed.

  9. I believe we all have the freedom of speech and “Food Babe” is only letting people know about the chemicals that are being used in these products. These companies are trying to make us believe that their foods are safe to eat and yet we don’t know what the out come is going to be 10,20 yrs from now. What are these chemicals going to do to our children? I believe what she is saying is natural, & organic,without pesticides or chemicals is the way to go. The simpler the better.
    These large corporations are filling us with antibiotics & chemicals and calling it food, while they are filling their pockets with their high prices.
    Maybe it is time to grow our own food, at least we’ll know it ‘s honest to goodness real food!

  10. I really like your blog and I appreciate the research and effort you put into encouraging people to know what they are eating and to make better food choices. I think this is one of the biggest crises that we face right now and the real world health implications are very real and very scary. Your blog has been a great resource for me in trying to improve the quality of what I eat.

    However, I do have a tiny bone to pick. You say this about the froyo trend: “The Cookies and Cream flavor has TBHQ (commonly used in varnishes, lacquers, pesticide products, cosmetics, and perfumes – not something I want to be eating).” This is something I see a lot on here and on other blogs: “The product contains _____ which is also used in _____” which is somehow supposed to imply that that makes it bad. You know what else is used in varnishes, lasquers, pesticides, cosmetics, and perfumes? Water. Does that make water bad? Does that means it’s “something you don’t want to be eating”? Of course not. Guilt by association isn’t really fair. It would be so helpful and educational if you could explain WHY something like TBHQ is bad, instead of just implying that it is bad because it is used in other things. For example, it was so useful for me that you mentioned that Yellow dyes #5 and #6 have been scientifically linked to hyperactivity. That allows me to make an educated, responsible decision about whether or not it’s something I want my family to eat.

    I’m looking forward to all your future posts. Thanks for all your hard work!

  11. Say it isn’t so. where can I find more info on this. A new family owned business just opened up and they serve yougart and sorbert. I try not to eat much. But it is SOOOO good. I think I will ask them for their ingredients.

    1. Hi Jane – Yes! Ask them for their ingredients and talk to them about it and encourage them to make changes. This is how we change things! Good luck!

  12. I would like to know why Soy Lecithin was in Red on your Yogurt article. I value your very helpful information.Thank you

      1. If Soy Lecithin is in an organic product, it is considered safe or ok to consume?

  13. do you have a healthy recommendation for yogur? i’m currently using hillcrestcreamery yogurt it’s a family farm of of louisiana.

    1. Wow Edwin. . . Thanks for your share. My mom lives in Lafayette, LA ~~ It looks like Hillcrest Creamery sells at the local farmer’s market. I will share the info.

  14. Hi, This was very useful and informative.
    I am curious if you would be able to send me information on BerryLine located in Cambridge, Mass.
    It was started by 2 MIT fellows and I’ve tried to reach them for the full ingredient list to no avail.
    Could you reach out?

    Thanks!!!
    M

  15. I find articles by the Foodbabe somewhat infuriating. Why not promote a plant based diet? No one who follows a plant based diet would even have to worry about the chemicals found in so called frozen “yogurt” because they wouldn’t be consuming yogurt in the first place

  16. THANK YOU FOOD BABE. you are amazing! this really opened my eyes, especially the vanilla flavors with RED 40???????? insane. sometimes we think we know everything about the newest health info and then we learn more. thank you!

  17. I worked for over a year at one of the VERY popular big Yogurt chains in the country as it was just getting started as a company and trying to compete with the other big names in the business. I can tell you that ALL the frozen yogurt companies get their yogurt from only one of three places, so most likely if you have multiple different smaller stores in your area, they are most likely getting their product from the same place as the big chains. At least that’s the case in the Southeast. It was a big issue as the store I worked at became super popular and other smaller stores started to open up in other places around town. I remember specifically the owner becoming very angry about the fact that they couldn’t stop the other stores from getting the same yogurt. And I can also tell you that when they come out with a “new flavor” it’s just them pouring two previous flavors together in a new machine mostly. Oh, and the Tart flavors that were very popular and considered as more of a pure yogurt flavor were just as bad as the others. In fact they may be worse as they tended to form chunks and curds in the container before being placed in the machine. PLUS, the machines get cleaned using some very toxic chemicals that you have a very hard time getting completely out before running the machine again, at least that was my opinion when I was cleaning the machines.

  18. I’m so glad to find your forum, Vani! Almost all the dairy I have enjoyed and needed for protein has been modified with carrageenan. I found out about the ingredient at the end of a day of feasting on various dairy that I had been without too long. Throughout one day I had several cups of chocolate soy milk, some yogurt with banana, some cottage cheese in a salad and some ice cream in the evening. Then the throbbing pain in all my joints began. I wondered why my regular prescriptions were failing to keep my inflammatory illness under control. Suddenly I decided to put on my glasses and study all the dairy labels and found that strange word “carrageenan”” and then went to the internet. It seems those who are ignoring the research results are people who don’t know the pain like what bewildered me initially but now I know why I got it suddenly in the summer: an ice cream cone at McDonald’s drive-thru or a shake at another drive-thru –but the worst offender was recent: Culver’s!! I bought a quart of their frozen custard. No ingredients are listed on their container. Their commercials boast “purity” and “top quality” ingredients, so why should I worry about their simple frozen custard? I had excruciating inflammation again from eating that and went to their website to look up ingredients. There it was. They put all kinds of crap in their frozen custard! I wrote a polite contact two weeks ago (late January 2014) and told them about the carrageenan dispute and ban in other countries, and questioned why they would use that in a custard that can be so simple, but they have not replied to my contact as of today, 2.9.14 Maybe you can arrange to apply a little more pressure? Some pure dairy is still out there and I sure hope we don’t lose it to this stupid, thickening sea weed.

  19. What about Yogurtland?

    Personally I prefer one of the local companies that actually make their own mix in their store. We have one in Los Angeles and one in San Diego that do this and they will discuss with you exactly what they use in their products.

    There is also a local chain that sells Italian ice and frozen custard. While it is not frozen yogurt, they do make both themselves and will discuss what they use as well. Just don’t buy their scooped ice cream, as it’s Dreyers.

  20. Melissa – why are you so angry? if you don’t like Food Babe then why troll the site? I’ll ask you a question, have you ever been diagnosed w/ cancer and been through chemotherapy? I have. At age 36, with 4 small children. It will completely make you rethink what you’re putting in and on your body. I appreciate Food Babe.

  21. I bought a Cuisinart soft serve machine that does not require salt and is so easy to operate a child could use it, for under $100. I now make all my own frozen yogurt and ice cream…I know and control everything that goes in, and am able to serve a superior product to my family for around the same price as 1 cup of frozen yogurt or smoothie that is filled with questionable ingredients…. and in 20 minutes!

  22. Melissa and others,
    I appreciate Melissa’s thoughtful well written rebut. Whether those subscribing to this site agree with her point of view or not, I’m not sure that I understand the hostility of some of the responses. When did we become so afraid of descent? We are made richer and better able to make choices for ourselves by considering varieties of input. I make an effort to eat nutritious foods. However, I also take a multivitamin. Ideally one is less processed than the other. Our greatest threat is not from processed foods but, from our inability to engage is civil discourse.

    Please let’s welcome a respectful, open and ongoing discussion about this important matter.

  23. I understand that this particular flavor is unsafe. However, as the nutritionist for a university who carries Pinkberry, I urge you to judge each individual flavor. Some flavors (including Original) have the worst offender as only sugar. Please ask to read the ingredients list of the flavor which you are considering ordering. Several of them do not contain harmful ingredients.

  24. AHEM. If we are all done yelling about…everything, could someone tell me (NICELY PLEASE, I read these out loud on occasion around younger ones for our nutrition studies here and there) what the balanced and factual information on the frozen yogurt place Orange Leaf is? We don’t have any of the ones listed here local. Thank you!

    1. You should be able to find info on their website. The Orange Leaf local to me has their ingredient list hanging next to the machines. I took a look, it’s full of junk. You could also ask at the store.

  25. I appreciate FoodBabe’s research. Personally, I get tired of fretting over everything I buy at the grocery and worrying about eating out. It would be nice if these companies would be held accountable to not put junk in our food. Sometimes, it’s nice to go out for a treat or dinner and it’s infuriating that some places such as frozen yogurt joints or Subway make healthy claims when they really aren’t. Here’s an idea, how about making something that really is good for us? I contact companies when I can, but I’m busy just like everyone else so I’m glad to be able to read blogs like this to help me make good choices.

  26. Can you do an article on Rita’s Italian Ice, it’s a huge staple in the east coast diet. I want to really know what their ice is composed of!

      1. No kidding Juliet! I lived in Italy in college. Gelato is made here in the states and is made from REAL INGREDIENTS, unlike frozen yogurt. In Italy, I’ve enjoyed REAL frozen yogurt AND gelato. 🙂

  27. Soy Lecithin is natural and safe. I enjoy this site and much of the information, but I wish there was some actual research being done on these chemicals prior to publishing. “I don’t recognize, therefore bad” doesn’t really cut it and is in many ways no better than the dis/misinformation put out by Big Food. Soy Lecithin contributes to cell wall repair, for one thing, and has been used in various holistic medicines for ages. Keep up the good work but please do your due diligence, otherwise everything you say becomes dubious.

  28. Hi Vani! Please, please read! This comment is directly for you.
    I’m a senior in high school, working two jobs to be able to go to college in the fall. One job I’m employed at is Subway. I know, the bread, it’s awful. I literally signed the petition five minutes ago to take out the yoga mat!
    However, my other job is at a frozen yogurt shop. What I’m wondering is if the yogurt I’m selling to people is just as bad as the frozen yogurts you’ve displayed. The frozen yogurt we sell at Yo Cool is packaged to us and called Yo Cream. I can promise you I will be opening the freezer tomorrow and scanning the lists of ingredients, but I would greatly appreciate your opinion and knowledge.
    Thank you for reading, and keep up your work!

  29. Hi Foodbabe army,
    Thank you for reporting on frozen yogurt fiasco. Most consumers would never think frozen yogurt would contain GMO’s and other hazardous ingredients…I surely didn’t think it would.
    My family really enjoys making an “outing” to the frozen yogurt shop and unfortunately, even with this knowledge, will probably not heed your advice given. Has anyone researched just “how much” of a hazardous ingredient someone would need to consume in order to become adversely affected? Which ingredients are the worst?
    One more thing, you had mentioned eating “kim-chee”. What is your recipe, or what brand would you buy?
    Thank you so much for your vigilance and bringing awareness (whether heeded or not) to us consumers. May the truth always be known! ~Jay

  30. In Germany recently I ate some delicious yogurt that was 10% fat. You could pop that in the freezer and it would be great. I wish they sold it here. It’s even hard to find whole milk yogurt in the US.

  31. Do you know of any frozen yogurt places that are good? All the ones you listed are “bad” but surely there has to be a good one out there somewhere?

  32. Thanks for linking to this, FoodBabe. It reminded me to look up the ingredients for a yogurt place I just checked out in Park Slope.

    So, yeah, you can add Yogurtland to this list of disgustingness! Comically, this yogurt shop’s tag line is “keep it real.” Keep it real fake and full of feedlot milk, GMO’s, margarine (????), chemicals, stabilizers, emulsifiers and…probably yoga mat. http://www.yogurt-land.com/

    I just tried out Yogurtland because I was lured in by the “real flavors, real ingredients, real pure” slogan. When I asked for the list of ingredients in the store, the employees pointed me to lists that say “contains…” The full list of ingredients were nowhere to be found…just “real ingredients” splashed over every surface imaginable.

    Check out this list of ingredients for YogurtLand’s Fudge Brownie:

    Pasteurized and Cultured Skim Milk, Sugar, Dextrose, Whey, Maltodextrin, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Brownie (Sugar, Bleached Flour [Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Soybean Oil, Whole Eggs, Water, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks [Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Butterfat, Soy Lecithin, Salt, And Vanillin {Artificial Flavoring}], Margarine [Soybean and Hydrogenated Soybean Oils, Water, Salt, Mono Glycerides, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate {Preservative}, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Beta Carotene {Color}, Vitamin A Palmitate added], Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Soy Flour, Wheat Gluten, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Alginate, Buttermilk, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Salt, and Leavening [Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate]), Milk Chocolate Fudge (Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk [Skim Milk And Sugar], High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Milk Chocolate [Sugar, Milk, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Lactose, Milk Fat, Soy Lecithin, PGPR Emulsifier, Vanillin, Artificial Flavor], Partially Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Water, Cocoa, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Whey, Modified Cornstarch, Monoglycerides, Artificial Flavors, Salt, Potassium Sorbate [Preservative], Xanthan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Disodium Phosphate), Microcrystalline Cellulose, Vegetable Mono & Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Cellulose Gum, Salt, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Caramel Color.

    Contains Live and Active Cultures: S. Thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium ssp., L. Rhamnosus, L. Casei.

    Contains: Egg, Milk, Soy, Wheat.

  33. hahaha i love the “(in some cases that could be beavers’ anal glands for a “natural” strawberry flavor!)”. i love a woman that can be blunt and not worry about offending others with truths. that future of food documentary spells it out quite well too. ive never eaten yogurt anyway, so it dosnt bother me, but good luck getting the masses to care about anything that may cause them to have to work harder for there own good.

  34. I know this is a fairly old article, but I think that it should be known that the “Fancy French Vanilla” listed under Menchie’s yogurt is actually YoCream product, not Menchies product. They have since stopped using any YoCream or Rainbows end yogurts, and strictly use their own privately manufactured brand. That being said, yes, there are still stabilizers, flavors, and colors as well as sugars and corn syrup, none of which are exactly good for you, but they also make sure that all of their products use real ingredients as well. Example being that say, peach or strawberry uses actual fruit, not just flavors.

    Yes, I work for them, just caught my peepers and thought I should pass the info along.

  35. Interestingly enough, there is no flavor called Fancy French Vanilla for Menchie’s and there never was. Although some of the ingredients are the same, others are not present. This is the current ingredients for the flavor Vanilla Snow.

  36. Well, that surely tell the truth behind all of those yogurt places here in Philadelphia ,PA.I never bought any yogurt from ,Sweet Endings. They are most likely are doing the same thing! Not only you let readers know about all the bad chemicals in the so call yogurt but what about those toppings? Hmm, I always think they are dirty because some of those people that work there look so disgruntled and they may use there hands to fill the topping compartments even if they fall on the floor! Yuck! And the toppings period are artificial flavored and chemical filled. I see in there the different colored jimmies, M&Ms which are dyes, and the chocolate ones. And I think there were some nuts that probably were process at plants that uses peanuts! I know people with peanut allergy need to be aware!

  37. I have been looking into Pinkberry’s ingredients on my own and I was really disappointed at 1) how much they tried to hide them from me; and 2) how much crap is really in the yogurt. I loved it and paid the high price for it because I thought it was pure and healthier than the other alternatives. Even Trader Joe’s tart frozen yogurt is LOADED with sugar. Unlike you, I really like the taste and the idea of frozen yogurt and would like to make my own, so recipes and ideas would be welcome. I especially like the plain tart, so that’s not a problem, and the pomegranate is a great flavor if it was made from fresh unprocessed juice. If anyone has some healthy recipes, and an optimal way to freeze the product, I’d love to hear about it. It’s sad to realize that the only way to get healthy food is to make it yourself. But I’ve reached that conclusion on a number of fronts.

  38. Propylene glycol which is mentioned in the above article about frozen yogurt is also an ingredient in almost all cake mixes on the market today. Please read the labels !!!

  39. I took my son to Froyo World today, there was a bogo sale today, but they are expensive. I really thought I was getting real and healthy ingredients, being yogurt and all, now I feel violated and cheated..but I won’t be eating that or any other ANYMORE.. Thanks Food Babe

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

food babe with grocery cart - footer image