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Don’t Fall For This Greek Yogurt Fake

January 24, 2013   74 Comments

Snack Girl has become a Greek yogurt expert. She has sampled them all and got excited when a new one appeared in the dairy case.

Muller greek yogurt review

Muller (with cool punctuation) has the same packaging as my favorite, FAGE. When I saw it, with its cute yogurt compartment and topping compartment on the side, I got excited. I was also thrilled with the price 4 for $5 which is quite a bit less than the $2 FAGE.

I also liked the idea of adding caramelized almonds to my yogurt. Super yum!

You are probably going to think this is funny, but I’m one of the few people out here that writes consistently on Greek yogurt. I know this because I have been interviewed for major newspapers on the subject, therefore I am a self-appointed expert.

What do I think of Muller? Sadly, it is not the real thing. Check out these ingredients:

Do you see the milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, modified food starch, and kosher gelatin? Those additions mean that this is not a true Greek yogurt but a “Greek style” yogurt. The package does say “Greek style” in teeny weeny print (see above and take out your magnifying glass).

The additives are extra protein to make it high in protein like real Greek yogurt and gelatin plus starch to make the yogurt thick. FAGE contains only milk and yogurt cultures. Ahh, FAGE how I love you!

Muller is trying to capitalize on FAGE’s success by making a cheaper version. How does it taste? It does taste better than Yoplait Greek, which I hated. It is a treat with an average of 21 grams of sugar per five ounce container (don’t get me started).

I would give it a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Have you seen this new brand? What do you think?

Other posts you might like:

yoplaitgreekb

Three Reasons To Avoid Yoplait Greek Yogurt

Snack Girl really doesn't want to pick on General Mills (the owners of Yoplait), but I feel I must....

The Best Brand of Yogurt You Can Buy

The title here is purposely misleading. I am just trying to get you to pay attention....

Get Free Email Updates! Yes please!

74 Comments:

Thank you for this info! Just read about this in Rachael Ray's mag as being a good choice, that sugar is through the roof!!

Woooooohhhh!! I had no idea! I actually have never had it! I'm a fan of Fage, Chobani and Trader Joe's Greek Yogurt, so I haven't changed. I am so glad you pointed this out! I will never try this yogurt!!They are such sneaky B's!

They were giving samples out at the store one day and I thought it was good and then I looked at the ingredients and nutritional facts and said, no thanks.

Have you tried Greek Gods yogurt?

Just noticed the word style on the packaging>>

I fell for this one last week (had a coupon). It's tasty, but once I actually read the ingredients - too late - I felt like a dummy. Never again. Hannaford stores have their own brand (Inspirations) that is pretty good. I think it's 3 or 4 WW points per container, and at 95 cents each it's affordable too. Quaker is ripping us off with this one - not nice of them!

You know I just stay away from flavored greek yogurt because of the sugar content. I just bought the large tub of plain Great Value greek yogurt this week and I must say its great! I think all the ingredients stand up to what we are looking for as well. Give it a try, it sure is cheaper.

GAH! I almost bought this the other day, because I got a buy one get one free coupon from my store. But the amount of sugar floored me - more than a chocolate granola bar! And over 200 calories in this little thing too. Sadly, not on my diet, though caramalized almonds sound lovely...

Wow! Thanks for the heads up!

Kroger had this on sale a month or two ago (I think when they started carrying it). Sounded good, but being the good little Weight Watcher that I am, I read the label first. I put it back on the shelf....whew...

I must say I have become quite the Chobani fan lately.

The best option for "Greek" yogurt is to get it at a middle eastern store if you have one close to you. It's not only all natural but it's also affordable. I get one called Ziyad (www.ziyad.com). They have it in 32 oz., for $2.99 or 64 oz., for $5.79. You can't get any better than middle eastern yogurt unless you make it yourself. It is super tasty alone or topped some honey and walnuts. Getting a pretty package of "greek yogurt" is often not all that it's made out to be!

Izabel - thanks for that information, I will definitely look into that.

Thanks for pointing that out! I would've missed it!

It's funny cause I was eating some yogurt when I started reading this.

I just learnt about the goodness of greek yogurt and have been buying it but didn't really know what to look out for.

Ofcourse I went to the fridge to check and it appears I made a good choice. I purchased the liberte brand (plain non-fat). I was kinda cheating with it though. I had sweetened it with honey. I am currently on the South beach diet phase 1. I really deserve it, it's been a tough week.

My fitness expert friend has a good suggestion on how to flavour your yogurt. If you keep frozen fruits like berries, you can put them in the yogurt overnight and that makes a yummy snack as well.

I like okios, lovvve fage, and ive recently found liberty is really good too!

Personally, I'm a fage believer. I add fruit or peanut butter to the plain kind and even like to use it in recipes (like dips and baked goods). I have found that it seems to be the highest quality so I'm generally ok with the high price tag. When I saw this new muller product, I immediately looked up the nutrition labels and knew right away it was not for me. Now, because of this post, I'm even more convinced it's not for me. Thanks for the info!

Thank you! Love this kind of info!!!!

In an attempt to get my daughter to eat a healthy yogurt, I bought Muller and I was pleased that she liked it. When I went to throw the container out, I looked at the back and my jaw dropped when I saw how much sugar was in it. That was the first and last time we got it. At this point, I rather her eat hard boiled egg whites with salsa (which she loves) to get her protein than this sugary, Greek yogurt wannabe. Like you, I'm sticking with Fage which is hands down the best one out there. Chobani tastes like sour cream and does not have a nice texture.

That's a bummer - although the Light N Fit Greek line is the same way and it's the only "greek style" yogurt I like, so I eat it anyway. Plus it still has far less added sugar than many of the others. :-)

Seriously, grocery shopping takes so long these days now that you gotta get out your magnifying glass and scrutinize every label! I've never considered Muller a very healthy yogurt with all that sweet stuff going on in the corner. I think it's funny that they call it a "Greek Corner" like it's only Greek in that part! And wow, that's a ton of sugar. Think I'll stick to my Costco Greek...once I check the label and make sure it's not fake!

@ Jeff, Greek Gods yogurt is also just milk/cream and probiotics (+inulin in the fat free variety, and obviously extras in the flavored types). I haven't tried their traditional but think the FF is almost ricotta-like. I like it.

It AMAZES me how SNEAKY the major manufacters are! They stop at nothing in their marketing to make the $$. YEA for you in pointing this out!!

How much/many grams of sugar do you like to eat daily? Thanks!

@LIGHT N FIT greek, it may have less sugar, but thats because its ARTIFICALLY sweetened!

I had their regular yogurt and liked it, but thought their greek style tasted funny, and thats when i saw it was artificial sweeteners. Now i sometimes get their plain as a treat.

Thanks for the write up/warning. Like you, I love Fage. I was duped into buying Yoplait Greek once. I tried one and threw away the rest of the containers. I've tried making Fage at home with Fage as a starter, but I really love the flavor and consistency of store bought Fage, so I buy it either at Sam's or at Aldi. Keep the Greek yogurt posts coming!

I recently found Olympus brand, which is actually imported from Greece. Not a ton of variety (just your basic fruits) but a great texture and flavor. It has very simple ingredients. I discovered it when I was looking for 1 or 2% yogurt for my 5 year old, I don't like giving her fat free. It's got a lot of sugar but all of the flavored ones do. She has it as a treat.

My family is not a fan of yogurt, but my 3 all love this. So I say ya... I buy it in the 12 pack at Sam's Club.

This is why I like to make my own Greek yogurt when I have the time to. I know exactly what is in it. Milk and yogurt cultures. Then if I want to add Stevia & fruit or whatever, I can do that. Manufacturers are little sneaky snakes.

i'm a huge proponent of greek yogurt & it's benefits, my kids & husband love it, it's almost all we buy for yogurt. my mil was watching the kids for us (we had a wedding), she was so excited to show me she bought greek yogurt for the boys, said how delish it was, etc. & i though of course, look at the extra crap you can add to it & all the sugar/syrup it's sitting in, i read the contents & told her; that's NOT greek yogurt. oh well, at least she tried, right? lol

Fage is too sweet. By taste I new it was wrong. Three days of trying and I have a migraine! I am going to try making it, thank you for the recipe! Yet another thing to do in a busy, busy week!

You can usually find Fage on sale at Target for $1 at least 2x a month. Other stores in my area also put it on sale for $1. I never pay more than that.

Hi!

I was wondering...what do you make of Walmart's new "Greek Yogurt"? I am not kidding when I tell you it tastes, looks and *feels* just like Sour cream!! It's 1 ingredient -- good ole milk--but I don't know what the culture is. I *swear* I used it as sour cream on my quesadillas last night and COULDN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE!! Thoughts? Testing? Much, MUCH appreciated!! Thanks!

And from the same company, Muller, is FrutUp, which was being sampled recently in Sam's Club. Ingredients: contains milk, wheat, talapia (!) yuck, no way!

link to read it for yourself: http://mullerquaker.com/products/mullerfrutup/peach-passion…

Most yogurt at the grocery store is crap. Gelatin is used to thicken them because the yogurt is thin and cheap on its own, and then there's sugar galore!

FYI, the 'cool punctuation' is an umlaut (OOM-lout). Muller is German for Miller. The umlaut means there's an inferred R...so it's pronounced halfway between MUH and MER for the first syllable. I loooove inferred R's! ;0

Homemade greek yogurt is the best and actually very easy to make.....and cheaper. I could never go back to eating any store bough yogurt again! Yummy!

I saw the commercial. My first thought is 'what is the catch? What does the taste like?"

Thanks for the heads up, I love greek yogurt and would have eventually picked this one up but not now. I also tried dannan fit and light and it was GROSS! It has some awful additive. I going to go back and read your other yogurt reviews.

Oh well, guess I'll eat the last two I have in my frig and never buy it again. Sheesh!

I've stuck with FAGE for 4 years since I first tried it. I did try Chobani and went, meh. I didn't try the Dannon based on all the bad reviews. And I do read labels, so this dreck would not have passed my test. I always recommend FAGE 2% to folks. I find the 0% is not good and the whole is too fatty for my taste, though better than the nofat. 2%, as Goldilocks would say, is just right. With fruit and nuts or honey or vanilla extract and sweetener or sugar-free preserves....yum. But my very fave is strawberry and walnuts.

Sadly, my VERY favorite WAS Trader Joe's Plain Fat Free Greek with Fiber - but they discontinued it :-( So, now I'm buying Trader Joe's Plain Fat Free - but it's got a WEIRD taste. Even with the things I add: Stevia, fresh berries, flax seed...it still tastes weird - but with 22 grams of protein - I carry on.

Thank you for this. I actually have one of these in my lunch today, but haven't tried it yet. Looks like a dollar wasted, and I'll return to buying Fage for my lunch. I use Chobani in my morning smoothie, so I am glad to see my two faves make your list!

I saw it only on another blog. Glad you checked it out. I can see the wanted it to look european with the name. I wont be trying it. Still love Chobani :)

Mueller is a product of Pepsi Co. If you are into healthy choices you should know that Pepsi Co. is not going to be one of your best companies to choose from.

I'm a newbie to this Greek yogurt fad but just got back from the store and had picked up Oikos greek nonfat yogurt. The 18 gms of sugar seem high but O fat is good. The strawberry fruit on the bottom is what probably makes up the sugar. Will try it and let you know if its a keeper!

Have you heard of Liberte Yogurt? It's out of Canada. It is delicious and so creamy so I'm sure it's not good for you. Comments?

I didn't even care when I bought it... I was hungry grocery shopping. There is a lot of sugar but I will tell you... it's delicious..

Funny, I put in a search for this topic bc someone recommended muller to me over my favorite Fage, as well. I put a couple in the cart but couldn't forget a few of my favorite as well...just in case. Thank goodness I did! Muller is horrible, smooth but almost has a tapioca texture...glossy. It doesn't taste like yogurt much less Greek yogurt. Glad I saw this to point out the irregular additives in muller. It his the trash can and thank goodness for my back up Fage.

OH MY>>>>> I was eating this yogurt when I found this article. YIKES! My darling husband bought me a CASE of this at Sam's. He knows I adore greek yogurt and thought he would do something nice. Gotta love him, but now I am stuck with these pint sized sugar bombs.

If you're concerned about the sugar, just add less of the topping. About half the time I eat one of these, I don't add any of the fruit/nuts at all. The yogurt-like substance is pretty good all by itself.

Have you looked at the ingredients in Muiiler Greek--it has Tipliaia fish in it. WHY would you put finh in yogurt ??? I won't be buying this ever.

Wish I read this, and the ingredients, before I bought. Sale price plus coupons is like wearing blinders sometimes.

True Greek yogurt is made from sheep's milk and is really thick. That's it. We make real Greek yogurt at homeThese companies with their so called "Greek Style" and "Greek" yogurt, are just taking you all for a ride. Some actually charge you over $1.50 for most tiny containers and are filled with so much sugar and other un-necessary ingredients, it's no longer yogurt, but a lab experiment. If you can't make the stuff at home, or don't like sheep's milk, then definitely buy the plain stuff with the least ingredients, and strain it in your fridge for 24 hours. Add your own fruit and honey and boom, you're done!

@real grreek girl

What do you think of fage plain and siggi plain?

In general I hate american yogurt. Standing in front of the dairy shelf gets me annoyed fairly easily. Nonfat aspartame sweetened yogurt choices, overpriced like there is a frigging milk scarcity in this country. I like a creamy greekstyle yogurt with fruit. Give me a Müller. Love it, and will keep buying it. Funny reading about people waving their hands over their heads. Sugar! Fat! Most of the time those are the ones with the fattest guts. Makes me smile!

I don't believe everything I read when it comes to food, I try things myself, then decide...so glad I did, because this yogurt is excellent taste wise. And compared to Fage, it's not bland and tasteless AND as expensive. Oikos Greek yogurt is a close second. People try it for yourselves, and it's not super caloric to eat it in moderation....

I have tried a coiple different flavors of this brand. I have found I did not like it until I added splenda or sugar free honey. Also, we go by the weight watchers points system and have found these to have more points per serving than other greek yogurta that we buy. I also like the lower point greek yogurta better plus THEY COST LESS! The Muller coat about $0.89 to $1.50 each (depending on where we shop). The Yoplait Greek 4 pack costs $2.79 (more if we shop outside the military base). I LOVEEEE Yoplait Peach & Yoplait Pineapple Greek Yogurts!

Marcia.....

FrutUp contains talapia....as in fish???? Seriously??? EWWWW! I hope that was a typo and you actually meant tapioca?

Joy.....

Costco is VERY GOOD about letting customers return products. You should return the yogurt Iif it is jot a waste of gas. ;)

Karen

No, not a typo at all, FISH. Want some fish-flavored yogurt? Anyway, click the link from my original comment to read those ingredients for yourself....

Hmm, I just went and bought more of this yogurt. It's the best tasting one I've had. The fage is good - but I find the teeny tiny fruit compartment too difficult to use - tough to get the fruit out. Muller is much easier and tastes fantastic. Protein is protein and I am a nutritionist if that makes any difference. Chobani, however, is awful - tastes like.... vomit - too sour.

I was sad when I tried this :( I love the Chiobani blueberry with walnuts, chia seeds and hemp seeds and i'm a huge fan of greek yogurt but this tasted like sour cream to me! It was awful. Oh well..

I don't care what you say i tried so many I all by Muller over them all. i can't get enough of this. you can keep the other. You think that every thing that has a hih price is better I asume. I tried the so called Greek yougurt and some of the realy suck.DAN

Just saw the commercial! Good call Lisa, I'm sure glad you pointed out the fact that it's 'Greek Style' yogurt. It's easy to overlook fine print like that when you're in a rush. Fage is a fave in the household. -You can't beat it!

Muller is the only yogurt I can stand eating...all other yogurt either just tastes nasty or has a sour aftertaste (and I've tried quite a few varieties). I don't mind that it's not true Greek yogurt; I'm looking for good-tasting yogurt, not specifically Greek yogurt.

First i throw in my 5 cents. I grew up in Europe and every yogurt in Europe are thick because they use 3% milk , now in America the only thick yogurt is greek yogurt and that is why it's called "greek style" , also i love muller thats the only yogurt that uses 2% milk , i used to eat oikos but since i eat muller i can't eat other yogurts available on the market

Marcia,

I am totally lol'd now. I have actually tried th e Fruit Up AND LIKED IT! I do not like the calories in it but my husband and I love the taste. I am cracking up because I forgot it has talapia in it. I never would of tried it had I remembered that. Although I love talapia.....it sounds disgusting to be in that. Lol

Had to share!

- - I just finished eating one...

We were happy with Müller. Even cheaper at Sam's. Alas, not it. BTW, because of health concerns I have been cogitationg (now don't spit) on something that would be thick, sweet, high in protein, but no carbs or fat.

Obviously Müller won't do, but the formula that you mention might... Of course replace sugar with splenda or stevia. Hmmm, will have to get into experimenting! Thank you for the post!

I wish I had read this before I bought it. I was disappointed with the runny consistency of the ones that I had bought. It was my first experience with "greek" yogurt, or so I thought.

I happened to buy Chobani with them, maybe I'll like it better.

Im so addicted to this stuff. The almonds taste so good. But I refused to check it out cause I did not want to read anything negative. Alas! I will have to give it the boot. Ive eaten 3 already today and thats way to much sugar.(sigh)

Sure, it may not be the lowest in calories, but it tastes good if you want something quick for breakfast or a late afternoon snack. It still beats many alternative snacks. I like the various flavors. I'm sure there are a lot of opinions, but could it be that Muller is going after a different demographic or market segment with this one?

Perhaps you should scrutinize the quantity delivered with this product. I happen to like the stuff but they are in a concerted effort to minimize what they actually deliver in the package. The fruit side is now filled below the half point.... it has been reducing for months. The yogurt side is now being reduced..... I have complained to the company. They are great on the phone. Promise of coupons (none sent) and the quantities reduced further still... Ahhhhh, consumer beware!

Müller yogurt is the no1 in europe for 40 years, nobody cares about fag-e. All of a sudden americans think fag-e is the real deal, because you didnt know $hit about yogurt for ever. Chobani is the SAME crap we used to have in europe for 20years, but again, americans being 20 years behind now think its something new.

Hey there person from europe: Your hate is very apparent and unflattering. Your disdain is in every sentence you speak. We don't really care which yogurt Europeans eat. I happen to prefer Muller (but not the greek kind). Chobani and Fage are very popular here because they are packed with protein.

Love muller yogurts, but seriously bored of the adverts always ends with Nicole and yogurt on her nose, please please show us something we haven't seen 100 times over!!!

Thanks for the info! I have a coupon for this yogurt and now have to think if I really want it or not... Nowadays very few products have only wholesome ingredients. :(

Come on! This is the BEST TASTING YOGURT out there! But, I'll admit that I didn't read the label because what I did read - GREEK- sold me. The nuts are incredible and the consistency is like eating a very light cream cheese...Delicious and plentiful, but maybe the sugar is due to those darn nuts!!

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