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[1] At the time of manufacture, there were 10 million or more live and active cultures (photo © Pinkberry).
[2] Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt (photo © Ben & Jerry).
[3] Kemps get high grades for the texture of its frozen yogurt (photo © Kemps),
[4]Look for the seal on boxes and containers. Image courtesy National Yogurt Association.
[5] Yasso yogurt pops are a Nibble favorite (photo © Yasso).
[6] Can Mixmi deliver the probiotics/active cultures that other brands can’t? See the comment under photo #7 (photos #6 and #7 © Mixmi).
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“What happens to the beneficial bacteria in frozen yogurt,” a reader writes. “Does freezing kill them?”
Yes and no. Live culture frozen yogurt maintains the cultures’ benefits because the flash-freezing technique used in the production of frozen yogurt, unlike slow freezing in a freezer, only makes the organisms dormant.
It does not kill them—or at least not all of them, all at once. However, even if a brand is certified as the number of bacteria in frozen yogurt is usually lower than that in the fresh yogurt from which it was made.
Before we continue, elsewhere on The Nibble you’ll find:
> The history of frozen yogurt.
> The history of yogurt.
> The different types of yogurt.
> The different types of frozen desserts: a photo glossary.
> The year’s 50+ ice cream and frozen dessert holidays.
Yogurt is made by culturing milk with bacterial cultures. The words “live and active cultures” refer to the living organisms, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus*, which convert pasteurized milk into yogurt during fermentation. (Note that the milk is pasteurized before culturing in order to remove any harmful bacteria.)
This fermentation process is what creates yogurt, with its unique taste, texture, and healthful attributes. The yogurt cultures—all the strains of bacteria added to the product—make up about 1% of the ingredients.
Not all frozen yogurt has live and active cultures. Just as some manufacturers use different combinations of cultures, frozen yogurts are created with different processes. Some are heat-treated after culturing, which extends the shelf life of fresh yogurt but kills the cultures.
Why should you care about the live organisms? There is preliminary scientific evidence suggesting that live cultures in regular and frozen yogurt can boost your immune system, prevent osteoporosis, and prevent gastrointestinal infections, ultimately helping your digestive system as a whole.
However, unless you can somehow get that frozen yogurt shortly after its manufacture, the cultures may no longer be live.
WHAT ABOUT PROBIOTICS?
In frozen yogurt, active cultures (like L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus) are the bacteria used to ferment milk into yogurt.
Probiotics are specifically chosen strains of live bacteria added for health benefits, such as improved digestion and immunity. While all probiotics are live cultures, not all live cultures provide proven probiotic health benefits. They are often added toward the end of production, and are designed to survive freezing. They may go dormant when frozen and may “wake up” once in the digestive tract, but it is not certain.
Active cultures are required to make yogurt, and they create the tangy flavor. However, they might not survive the production process in high enough numbers to provide health benefits.
Different yogurt brands, refrigerated and frozen alike, add probiotics, which aid with digestion. Red Mango is one frozen yogurt brand that adds probiotics.
> Here’s more on probiotics.
What About Active Cultures?
The levels that remain in frozen yogurt depend upon the numbers that were in the fresh yogurt from which it was made, and on the hardiness of the specific cultures that were used. Thus, Some frozen yogurts are better sources of live cultures and/or probiotics than others.
In order to receive the National Yogurt Association’s Live & Active Cultures seal (image #4)—a voluntary labeling program—frozen yogurt is required to contain at least 10 million cultures per gram at time of manufacture (for fresh yogurt, it is 100 million per gram). The amount was agreed upon by research scientists who participated in studies of the health benefits of live cultures in yogurt products.
If you like a brand that doesn’t have the seal but want to know what’s inside, look on the brand’s website. If you don’t see it, use the Contact Us form to ask what types of bacteria their product contains and how many live and active cultures are in the finished product.
But there’s more to consider:
[7] Mixmi Froyo claims it contains six live and active cultures and delivers “over one BILLION probiotics per serving” but does not clearly publish a consumer-facing “guaranteed at end of shelf life at time of consumption” CFU count (e.g., “≥ X CFU through best-by date”). They do emphasize testing and “live & active cultures,” but that’s not the same as a formal guarantee of the live count at consumption.
Some frozen yogurt brands have live and active cultures, but there’s no regulation around how much bacteria must be present in frozen yogurt. There may not be enough in the final product to offer any health benefits if the product was heat-treated after fermentation (which can kill cultures), contains very low or non-viable counts by the time you eat it (storage time/freezing can reduce viability a.k.a. active bacteria), or is made with yogurt flavoring or yogurt powder rather than a truly cultured base.
Look for phrases like “live and active cultures,” “contains live cultures,” or a list of organisms such as L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium, and other bacteria. However, as noted, even if they are live in the final product, cold storage over time can kill them.
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