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What Is This Ingredient Doing In My Stonyfield Yogurt?

July 31, 2012   47 Comments

Hey, she should not be wearing a cape. Only Snack Girl gets to wear a cape!

Stonyfield Yogurt Review

Stonyfield has stolen my idea. Oh well. I guess that lady can wear a cape (but mine is nicer).

The top of this organic Stonyfield indicates that you don’t need to read their label because they are superheroes which save our families and the planet. Wow!

Now, I get to tell you that in 2003 Stonyfield Farm was acquired by Groupe Danone (Dannon Yogurt) the makers of this lovely stuff: This Yogurt Has More Grams of Sugar Per Ounce Than In Coca Cola.

Why would that matter? Well, I think that being purchased by another company can affect the quality of the products. The hippy, organic, earthy vision that is Stonyfield is a far cry from the multinational corporation with people in suits and tall glass buildings that own it.

Here is the label from that package:

Ahem, this is your family recipe??? What kind of family is this? A robot family?

And the ingredient that I don’t like is that “Stevia Extract”. I just don’t like the taste and I am surprised to find it in Stonyfield yogurt.

From Elena:

I've been eating Stonyfield's 0% fat french vanilla for many years. When I tasted the one I bought recently, I thought it had gone bad! Then I realized it was the new ingredient...stevia. I don't care if it's still organic...it tastes awful!

I spent forever in the yogurt aisle yesterday looking for a new alternative and found Siggi's. So far so good...

I asked a few of my friends if they knew that Stonyfield was adding stevia to their yogurt and they said, "What's stevia?"

I think I wouldn't write this post if Stonyfield didn't have a "holier than thou" image of purity. Yes, their stevia is organic - but many parents still wouldn't want to give this sweetener to their children.

Why did Stonyfield add stevia? Probably to get the amount of calories down to 100 per serving. If they just stuck with sugar, it might not be sweet enough at 100 calories for their customers.

My family recipe is to buy plain yogurt and mix in any fruit or sweetener that you prefer. This way, YOU control the amount of added sugar and you don’t have to wear a cape.

For more information on Stevia - here is my post: Is Stevia/Truvia/PureVia A Safe Sweetener?

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47 Comments:

I agree with you, I always just buy plain yogurt and add my own ingredients like honey or fruit.

I did not realize that Stonyfield was purchased. It does seem like whenever a small organic company is purchased by a larger food manufacturer strange ingredients start to creep in...Don't give up your cape just yet.

I'm a big fan of buyin plain and adding mix ins at home too, but sometimes the flavored yogurts are good on the go. Personally, I don't mind stevia, and since I'm on their mailing list I got an email when they reformulated some of their products. This sums up the change http://www.stonyfield.com/stonyfield-fat-free-yogurt-faqper… believe that organic stevia is better than aspartame or acesulafame k. I worked in fast food in High school and could not believe how many parents ordered diet coke to go with their kids' meals.

I love plain yogurt and add anything I want to it, thats what makes plain so great! I rarely buy flavored yogurts, I may for a quick afternoon snack when I can't make my own. Great post!! Personally I have never been a fan of Dannon or Stoneyfield Yogurt. I like Trader Joe's or Chobani!

Snack Girl, there's another weird thing Stonyfield does, I wrote to them way back, 06 or 07, to question their use of imported POWDERED NF milk instead of real milk; the response was a very looong email denying it until the last paragraph which confirmed it, probably thought I wouldn't read all the way down! I switched to org yogurt brands that my local health grocer carries. Stevia is an acquired taste I'm still trying to acquire, LOL! I don't trust big corps either.And I'm with buying it plain and flavoring my own too, plus plain is sorta a sour cream alternative.

This is so annoying. I will never understand reformulating a product that sells well!

and I do wonder if this is why I have been having a hard time finishing my yogurt.

Yogurt is so easy to make at home, I don't buy it anymore. We use my homemade jams and jellies to add flavor/sweetening. It's much cheaper, and I know exactly what the ingredients are.

I used to be hooked on the high sugar versions of yogurt. I've been slowly weening myself down by buying plain chobani or faye (when I want to spluge!) And add my own sugar. Each time I add less and less sugar as I aquire the taste for it. I'm down to about 6g per serving compared to the 23+g in dannon and yoplait! Sadly, I quit eating stoneyfield about a year ago noticing changes to the yogurt since it was bought by the Dannong group.

I generally buy plain yogurt, but I would prefer Stevia as an artificial sweetener as opposed to the others. Of course, I need to get back to making my own, then I know exactly what it contains!

I don't eat anything but plain yogurt, but I don't think there's anything sinister about adding stevia to a product in order to reduce the sugar. As far as safety goes, stevia is probably much safer than sugar - it's been used forever. I get it that some people don't like the flavor, and I think you shouldn't eat it if you don't (I don't like the aftertaste myself), but I don't think there's anything "weird" about stevia as an ingredient, and it's a positive to me when companies try to cut sugar without chemically-based, carcinogenic sweeteners.

I like organic Stevia it is not an artifical sweetner. Why would you not want to give to children??

Not to change the subject but what are your thoughts on chia seed?

Thank you for this post. I give my son Stonyfield low fat vanilla yogurt (because the whole milk is usually hard to find) and I'm happy to see that they aren't adding stevia to that product (yet!). This is really sneaky and proves that you need to look at the labels of things all the time, even if you have been buying them for a while. Thanks SG!

One thing good about the caped lady, it draws attention to the label which may encourage more label-reading! I don't mind stevia but why have sugar too? And I don't trust the word natural, why the use of natural AND organic. I'll just pass on something that confuses plus comes from big corp.

I prefer plain greek yogurt and will add in fruit or mix ins if needed. But it took me awhile to get to that point, I started with Dannon, then went down to Yoplait and then after reading a blog, I switched over to greek yogurt. While I don't like the mislabeling or not behing honest about a product, when starting weight loss or healthier eating, eating a Dannon yogurt is probably better than what the person had been eating before. And like myself, it takes time to get used to yogurt and work your way down to the healthier stuff. Honestly, my husband still eats Yoplait off and on for the flavors, but I would prefer he do that then eat a whole candy bar.

I used to buy Stonyfield, but I only bought the plain, whole milk yogurt. Now I can get yogurt made locally and is grass-fed.

I agree that Stevia shouldn't be in their product, but sugar in ANY form should not be in yogurt if it wants to be considered a healthy snack/breakfast. Any parent that is worried about Stevia should also be worried about the organic sugar, too. The only way to get away from sweeteners in yogurt is to buy plain and mix in your own fruits, etc.

I take high blood pressure medication. It is known that Stevia in some people can lower blood pressure. If changing Stevia as your sugar substitute for all your sugar needs...be aware that it could have an interaction with your blood pressure medication. Your blood pressure could be too low. I am currently doing well losing weight & hope to one day be off my blood pressure medications. But in the mean time, to be on the safe side, I avoid Stevia during my weight loss journey.

I like the Stonyfield plain greek yogurt and I rarely buy the flavors. This week I did and happen to have it in my bag for lunch today. I have the Oikos 0% fat peach mango flavor. The ingredient list does not contain stevia. Is is possible that it is only in certain flavors? Or produced in only certain areas? I am in NY.

I had the same reaction! I checked the expiration date! We had eaten them for years. We've switched to greek yogurt. SO sad when awesome brands go mega-corporate.

home made is so good and easy, I love it

Thank you so much for the heads up on Stonyfield, so sad to see the changes and I believe it is always around the money. Changing the recipe so it is less expensive to produce and charge the same amount. I almost always make my own yogurt and only use commercially made yogurt for my starter if I don't hold any back as starter. I wrote a blog about how to make yogurt the link is below. I find that home made yogurt tastes so much better, is not as sour and less money too!! I use organic milk most of the time or raw milk whenever I can get it. It is so easy to make and you don't need a lot of fancy gear either!

http://www.helenshealthtips.blogspot.com/2012/04/make-your-…

I have been purchasing O fat plain yogurt for as long as I can remember. I add my own sweetner etc...Also, mixed with Cool Whip makes an xlnt lower fat lower sugar topping

I dearly miss the Nancy's Yogurt from the Pacific NW. Here it's either Dannon or Stonyfield. Some choice huh?

I like stevia in my coffee and cereal, but I have a question didn't the FDA say companies were not allowed to use it in products but it could be sold as a sweetener. I buy Truvia and really like it.

I believe you're confusing stevia with chemical compound / fake sweeteners. If you don't like the taste of stevia, that's one thing, but as an ingredient, it's far healthier than artificial sweeteners (including Truvia). Would you have rather they added aspartame? I sure hope not.

I'm thankful they are finally using stevia instead of all those other sweeteners. I use pure stevia extract powder exclusively and add it to plain yogurt or other things, and don't have the bowel repercussions of sugar alcohols that I am allergic to, or the headaches from nutrasweet.

More products are being made with stevia, but some companies also sneak in sugar alcohol but advertise the stevia. Please don't put down stevia. Once you start using it in the small amounts needed, it really is a God send for many of us who are diabetics.

I like to mix equal parts plain Greek yogurt and vanilla yogurt. Cuts the added sugar in half, is plenty sweet, and has a lovely texture.

Forgot to mention! I add my own real vanilla to a good plain yogurt and the taste is far better than the pre-fake vanilla flavored ones. Save on vanilla by ordering online in the 16 oz. bottle. Cheaper per oz and u dont have to feel guilty using as much as U want. I personally use sweet and low as my sweetner. Better than sugar, the taste is tasteless in my opinion, and hasnt hurt me yet

I contacted them (via Facebook) the minute I noticed this. I stay away from all artificial sweeteners (yes, including Stevia--it's still made in a lab). I've been very happy with the Icelandic yogurt and also the Australian style yogurt Wallaby. :) :) I hardly ever buy Stonyfield these days--except for their Greek yogurt.

These are excellent comments. Here is my dilemma. I am a vegan therefore no yogurt for me and I am the type that does not do the fake yogurt thing so no soy, almond, rice or coconut either. HOWEVER my 3 kids eat yogurt. Sometimes I am around (I work full time) to mix them yogurt on demand but the little cups are convenient. I always have to check sugar and calorie content when I am buying. I like Chobani which tends to be expensive but I do not feel so bad about giving that type to my kids. Any other ideas or recommendations??

why do they add sugar AND Stevia?? I see that in Kashi cereals as well as some other cereals too where they list sugar, and then other forms of sugar such as honey, brown rice syrup, agave or what have you. Mind buggling. Makes no sense to me.

We also buy Chobani Greek Yogurt & my family likes it. It lists "evaporated cane juice" as a sweetener (which is lower on the list of ingredients).Evaporated cane juice is "unrefined sugar" which hasn't been as processed as regular sugar.

I prefer Greek yogurt, but I do like stevia just fine and use it to sweeten my Greek yogurt, which I then add non-alcoholic vanilla extract to, and I do use stevia to sweeten tea

Stevia rocks! Stevia in the raw is great in tea. Stevia has a bitter aftertaste if you use too much. It does not impact your bloodsugar so it is great for diabetics. It is though to be safe as it comes from a plant and has been used for years in other countries.

I also prefer to buy 2% or regular Greek yogurt, there's weird processing to get yogurt fat-free. Siggi's is a nice change if you want something flavored. Not too sweet and kind of "adult" flavors.

A co-op called Azure Standard compiled and diagramed various independant and organic brands that have been bought out/ sold to large conglomerates. It shows what Cargill and Monsanto own. Very eye-opening. BTW, Azure Standard delivers organic products to about half of the US. Everything from snack foods to bulk grains to personal care products. I swear I do not work for them, but although I have been interested in organic eating for many years, I only heard of the company within the last year.

My husband and I write a blog together and tomorrow we're writing about the ingredients of infant formula. Like corn syrup being the #1 ingredient in Similac Sensitive, and sugar is #2! Crazy stuff...

well i am happy they're using stevia in they're yogurt. what is it you people think they should use, real sugar? aspartame? splenda? i'm thinking stevia is the best way to go! i've switched my sweetner to stevia since it's all natural and no calories it seems to be the best option unless you want to add real sugar then honey or something to that effect would be ok but i'm watching calories so i prefer not.

I am so glad I came across your blog... Your posts are so useful and informative, and they make me laugh, great writing, thanks! Love the "family recipe" comment, because really, families have been making yoghurt by extracting reb-a and annatto in their kitchens for centuries!

Look what I found today (from WebMD):

Diabetes: Some developing research suggests that some of the chemicals contained in stevia might lower blood sugar levels and could interfere with blood sugar control. However, other research disagrees. If you have diabetes and take stevia or any of the sweeteners it contains, monitor your blood sugar closely and report your findings to your healthcare provider.

Low blood pressure: There is some evidence, though not conclusive, that some of the chemicals in stevia can lower blood pressure. There is a concern that these chemicals might cause blood pressure to drop too low in people who have low blood pressure. Get your healthcare provider’s advice before taking stevia or the sweeteners it contains, if you have low blood pressure.

I recently started making my own yogurt with our Organic, delivered to our door milk. It is yummy and I know exactly what is in it because I made it! I use whole milk because if you use skim you have to add milk powder, which I don't have on hand (but I guess I could buy it and try it). All my yogurt has in it is milk, and a bit of yogurt from the previous batch to get it going. Then I add fruit (fresh or frozen, depending on what I have on hand).

I use a yogurt making kit, but you can just make it in a pot. I'm sure there are a bunch of recipes online.

When did I become Martha Stewart?

Plain Yogurt with fruit is my choose... no sweetner! or I mix in a smoothie with fruits/veggies

I just had some of this yogurt and I spit it out. I have a reaction to chemicals and then I read the label. I think Stonyfield should have returned my money but they refused. They offered coupons for a brand I no longer trust. Their Cream top non homogenized yogurt was good and they screwed that up too. They sound like politicians, the woman told me they changed the recipe due to caller requests. Baloney. So I said if your going to keep changing recipes that means I have to bring my reading glasses to the store and re examine your ever changing products every time I go shopping. I don't like their lies, their creepy marketing ploys, and being told it wasn't their idea. No wonder their stuff was on sale. Never will I touch Stonyfield anything. No refund? Okay, then no purchases.

I've been buying Lifeway lowfat Kefir cultured milk smoothie Probiotic Pomegranate because of all the sugar in the yogurt.There are several flavors,and the price is great and good for you like yogurt.And Snack girl,your really cute!

Um so I've been eating this yogurt for two years currently have a container right now and I have never seen one with stevia. Just pure sugar so this is just not true at least in all places.I check labels everytime because I do not eat any sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners and this is one of the only brands that I can find that hasn't switched over.

I noticed Stonyfield stopped making their regular 0% fat REGULAR yogurt. Everything I could find for the last 2 months was fruit on the bottom or Blend-Ins so I emailed them and they said they stopped carrying them. So I've been eating the blend ins and I have noticed they are much sweeter. Why can't good things just stay good? I don't really care about calories..I care about what I am putting into my body.

I have a big tub of Stonyfield Fat Free Vanilla. It does not contain stevia. I mix my own fruit in. Was this just the single serving containers? Here is what is on the label: Culturized Pasturized Organic Nonfat milk, organic sugar, organic natural vanilla flavor, pectin,Vitamin D3 and 6 live active cultures.

You can make your own yogurt. I recently started making mozzarella and ricotta cheeses and my homemade cheese book as recipes for yogurt. It takes milk, a thickener like pectin, and cultures. You can get the cultures from a cheese making supplier.

Just bought Stonyfield's"Fruit on the Bottom" - strawberry, super-organic (170g): absolutely the worst yogurt I have eaten in 15 years. Price in our cafeteria downtown Houston: $2.18. Horror!

Hey Snack Girl,

My Stonyfield yogurt doesn't taste like stivia and better stivia than HFCS which is very fattening! A little honey in your serving of yogurt will cover the stivia taste and BTW the stem of the stivia plant is more bitter than the leaf. I hope this helps. Happy Yogurt eating! :-)

Bravo Stony Field!!! I just discovered the brand yesterday in Walmart. Where have I been? LOL The store was out of the usual plain Greek yogurt brand that I buy, so I decided to try another. The reasons that I was drawn to Stony Field consisted of three factors: The container design/information, ingredients, and price. The reason I am now hooked on it is-- the fabulous taste. I love it.

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