It’s amazing how many vegetarians eat store bought yoghurt without looking at the contents. That’s because the general assumption is that if it is a dairy product, it must be vegetarian. However, the yoghurt you get at the supermarkets have a lot more than milk in them so if you didn’t know, here’s a look at what really goes into making that yoghurt.
Most commercial yoghurts have gelatine added to them. There still are a number of people who have no clue that gelatine is made from beef or pork bones, tissue and skin. Gelatine doesn’t only go to make a yoghurt set better. It is also used in jellies, other desserts, pies, ice creams, marshmallows, snacks, soups and sauces.
The thing is, it just makes these products thicker, smoother and endows them with a better mouth feel. Ever since Jell-O was made over 200 years ago, gelatine has been very much a part of the food industry all over the world. Add to that the studies that gelatine actually helped those with painful joints and you’ll see why it is so popular. Many pharmaceutical capsules are gelatine-based. Gelatine is very easily absorbed into the body so many vaccines are using it to keep the medication in a stable state. Many cosmetic creams use it too.
All very well – but the problem starts when someone turns vegetarian and continues to eat foods like yoghurt simply because they are unaware that it could contain animal products. A lot of the gelatine used is not kosher either. When gelatine is used in yoghurt, you get a product that is creamy, thick enough to transport and one in which the calorie count can be controlled. It’s also great when you have fruit yoghurts because the fruit stays suspended. And of course, it adds bulk to yoghurts. So you see why the yoghurt manufacturers love it. (Danone and Yoplait state they use only kosher gelatine.)
There are special starch products available today which could be used as alternatives but they are much higher-priced so you probably won’t see the supermarket brands changing any time soon. However, there are yoghurts available from organic farms which don’t use gelatine so if you are a strict vegetarian and you love your yoghurt, make sure you look at that list of ingredients on every pack!
