Yoplait has a new Greek style yogurt out. There’s a massive marketing campaign tie in to the new Clash of the Titans movie and Athena portraying actress Izabella Miko. Strong woman eats good yogurt. Greek gods, Greek Yogurt, Yadda yadda…

The yogurt pack prominently displays “2X Protein..of the leading yogurt”. Wonder what that means. We decided to take a look inside the nutrition label and ingredient list to see if this yogurt is really healthy or just some more mythology…

What you need to know:

A serving is 6 ounces (170 grams) and will set you back 130 calories, none from fat. The sugar count is 18 grams, much lower than a standard Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt (27 grams). Of the 18 grams, 9 are naturally present in yogurt in the form of lactose. So the added sugar count is 9 grams or just over 2 teaspoons.

There’s no fiber, though you’d expect some from the fruit. There’s 12 grams of protein here, much more than in the standard Yoplait (5 grams). But protein is not an ingredient most people lack in the US. We get plenty of protein from other sources during the day. And the claim that it’s twice the protein as other leading brands is misleading, because Chobani Greek yogurt has 14g.

Here’s the ingredient list:

CULTURED PASTEURIZED GRADE A NONFAT MILK, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SUGAR, STRAWBERRY PUREE, KOSHER GELATIN, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, COLORED WITH BEET JUICE CONCENTRATE, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, , VITAMIN A ACETATE, VITAMIN D₃.

The first and obvious ingredient is milk. Non-fat milk in this case. The second is an ingredient called milk protein concentrate, made by ultra filtering milk to take out the lactose and then dry it up into a powder. There’s a lot of controversy around this ingredient as it is mostly imported from countries with dubious food safety records, and may not even be from cows (think yak and water buffalo). So why add protein in this manner to the yogurt, when in any case it’s not something consumers really need?

Ingredient number 3 and 4 are sugar. Well actually number 4 is strawberry puree, but it’s lost all its fiber and vitamin C, so all you’re getting is a bit of strawberry flavor and a lot of sugar. By the way, the strawberry puree is not red enough, so there is added coloring from the beet juice concentrate. That’s fine, at least it is a natural colorant, and not some artificial dye or bug juice.

The gelatin adds a thickness or consistency that would not have been required from a full fat yogurt. It’s kosher, which means it was not derived from animal sources.[UPDATE: see comment below]

The last three ingredients are fortifications of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin D. Always better to get them directly from food in which they are naturally present, not from add-on.

Summary: This yogurt is a better choice than the standard Yoplait option.

What to do at the supermarket:

As far as yogurts go, choose plain. It has less ingredients and less sugar. It lets you add fresh nutrient rich fruit of your choice giving you the added benefit of fiber and vitamins directly from the source, no fortifications.

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Kellogg’s keeps getting slammed with lawsuits related to misleading consumers. This time the product line in question is Nutri-Grain breakfast bars. According to Food Navigator:

The company is being sued in the US District Court of Southern California for violations of the Lanham Act, Unfair Competition Law, Common law of Unfair Competition, False Advertising Law, and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

In their adverts, the company suggests that Nutri-Grain bars allow you to ‘Eat Better All Day’ because they contain calcium and whole-grains, but the plaintiffs insist that those claims are invalidated by the presence of trans-fats, which contribute to diabetes and heart disease. Read more…

A quick reminder, in November Kellogg’s settled with the state of Oregon, after misleading “immunity claims” on it’s Cocoa Krispies breakfast cereal.

Let’s take a look at Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Yogurt Bars Strawberry Yogurt to see what all the fuss is about.

What you need to know:

Here is the ingredient list. Take a deep breath:

CRUST: WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SUNFLOWER AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, HONEY, DEXTROSE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, NONFAT DRY MILK, WHEAT BRAN, SALT, CELLULOSE, POTASSIUM BICARBONATE (LEAVENING), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, PROPYLENE GLYCOL ESTERS OF FATTY ACIDS, SOY LECITHIN, WHEAT GLUTEN, NIACINAMIDE, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CARRAGEENAN, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, GUAR GUM, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID.

FILLING: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, GLYCERIN, WATER, FRUCTOSE, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND COTTONSEED OIL†, NONFAT YOGURT POWDER [CULTURED NONFAT MILK; HEAT-TREATED AFTER CULTURING], STRAWBERRY PUREE CONCENTRATE, MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH, SUGAR, CORNSTARCH, MALIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CELLULOSE GEL, SALT, COLOR ADDED, CELLULOSE GUM, DATEM, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, MALTODEXTRIN, SOY LECITHIN, CARAMEL COLOR, RED #40.
†LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING

Oh Dear.

Over 60 ingredients!

We won’t go over each one, but we did mark in bold all the sugar synonyms, and underlined the trans-fat.

Note that partially hydrogenated oil means there is trans-fat in the product, even if the nutrition facts label says it contains zero. This is because of a labeling loophole which allows values lower than half a gram per serving to be rounded down to zero.  Too bad that ANY amount of trans-fat is bad for you, and if you’re going to have any it should not be in a purportedly healthy food item.

Don’t be fooled by the strawberry puree concentrate, it is nothing more than sugar by the time it makes it into the filling. No fiber, no vitamin C lost in processing.

Another irritating feature of this product is the claim on the package “More of the Whole Grains your Body Needs.” Unfortunately the second ingredient here is enriched flour, aka refined white flour without any of the whole grain benefits such as fiber.

A serving is one bar, and it contains 14o calories. 13 grams of sugar account for about one third of  the calories, and the fiber count is a measly 2 grams – you really aren’t getting the benefits of the whole grains your body so “needs”.

All told, this is nothing more than a glorified snack bar. Much closer to Twix and Snickers than something that will allow you to “Eat Better All Day”.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you’re looking for a healthier snack to pack in your purse or backpack, how about a banana or an apple? Need something in a wrapper? Look for bars that have short ingredient lists and little or no added sugars. Not to mention partially hydrogenated oils.

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We’re attending the Food and Nutrition Conference of the American Dietetic Association in Denver this week. Many researchers and companies use the event to showcase their ingenuity. Aside from a large expo hall with tastings of (mostly) new snacks and beverages, the Poster Sessions at the far back end are an interesting place to wonder about.

Since Fooducate focuses on nutrition labeling, we found a presentation on an Affordable Nutrition Index by Washington University’s Prof. Adam Drewnowski quite interesting. In the past few years, Drewnowski  has developed a Nutrient Rich Scoring system which scores foods based on their positive and negative nutrient content. The new system add a twist by dividing the scores by the cost of the product.

So while the old system may have given blueberries a higher score than bananas (both are very good for you), under the new scoring, bananas fare better because they are much more affordable. Low sodium canned soup came out quite well too, and Campbell’s soup company was quick to jump on that bandwagon by adding its products to the index and publishing a press release.

The study shows that even on a lower budget, people can find healthier items that are also affordable. Which is good, because the propensity for obesity and its related health problems are directly linked to lower socio-economic status.

What to do at the supermarket:

Some of the easiest ways to save money in the supermarket while still eating healthfully are to buy produce in season, or frozen/canned, cut soft drinks out of your diet, limit the number of snacks you buy, and come prepared with a shopping list. More suggestions here.

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As children, we loved visiting The Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Besides all the cool spacegear, a special treat awaited us at the souvenir shop – Astronaut Dessert in the form of freeze dried ice cream. Strawberry and Chocolate flavor. Melt in your mouth heaven for a 9 year old.

Fast forward to present day, Freeze Dried Partners LLC has recently introduced a line of freeze dried snacks called Funky Monkey, made from real fruit. There are 4 flavors, 3 of which are USDA Organic. From the manufacturer:

Funky Monkey Snacks contain no added sugar, preservatives, colors or flavors.  The snacks are made using a proprietary freeze-drying process on whole slices and large pieces of fruit.  The process, not used on any other snack available in the U.S., removes approximately 97 percent of the moisture content of the fruit, providing a crisp, crunchy texture, while retaining nearly all of the fruit’s nutrients.

Funky Monkey Snacks are a healthier and more natural alternative to dried fruit or fruit snacks.  Dried fruit does not preserve all the nutrients of fresh fruit, and fruit snacks often contain added sugars (including high-fructose corn syrup), colors, flavors and preservatives.

Below are the results of our taste test and nutritional analysis. Read more…

If you have young children, you probably recognize the Danimals brand of yogurt drink and may have even bought some for your children.

Was it the Hannah Montana co-marketing, The mysterious LGG,  No High Fructose Corn Syrup, or the promise of “helping kids stay healthy every day” that made you choose?

We decided to take a look inside the product, to see just what our kids are getting… Read more…

flickr photo: cloverity

We wrote yesterday about Yoplait’s encouraging announcement, promising to use milk for yogurt only from cows not treated with growth hormones.

Today we’ll take a look inside Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt, a stalwart, and see what else is going on… Read more…

An excellent question with no clear cut answer. Here’s a take on the subject by the Dallas Morning News. Remember though:

For packaged foods, remember that organic might not mean healthier – organic potato chips are still high in fat and salt.

read the full article

What to look for in the Supermarket:

If you are concerned with pesticide residues on produce, there are specific products you may want to purchase organic. They are collectively known as the “dirty dozen” and include strawberries, spinach, and bell peppers. We would add lettuce and other leafy produce to the list as well, as their large surface area may gather more pesticide.