So, I usually ignore the emails for strange shwag and product reviews that have been coming into my MamaBird inbox. But I love Stonyfield Farm, I think they have a conscience, and they want to give you free yogurt in exchange for your firstborn's palate getting you to taste their new plain yogurt/fish oil/probiotics blends. Mmmm! Fish and fermentation!
As I told their PR person, "a)I don't do many product reviews, b)my kids and I are beyond your target market (no more kids for me, no more baby food for them!), and c)I am sort of heading down the make-my-own-yogurt, minimize-packaging road. That said, I will happily give the coupons away, and I think the fact that Stonyfield is making a plain YoBaby is a genius move. My daughter sucked down the peach YoBaby drinks like they were going out of style but I always wished (and many on parenting boards I frequent echoed this thought) that they had less sugar. For awhile I actually cut them with kefir...." And, because I really can never leave well enough alone, I asked: "Is the "maternity" yogurt different in some way from other Stonyfield products? I'm curious - are the probiotics/folic acid, DHA et al added in just to the YoMommy or to all Stonyfield Farms yogurts?"
Their (very nice) PR flack's response: "Glad to hear you enjoy Stonyfield and it is very cool to hear the steps that you are taking to minimize the family's package consumption. In answer to your question about the Yo Mommy yogurt, the folic acid has been added and is not in other Stonyfield yogurts and so has the DHA. The DHA is from anchovy and sardine fish oils - sounds very yucky but you can't taste it :) The probiotics, however, are in all Stonyfield yogurt products.
Here's the information about the probiotics in our yogurt:
By definition, yogurt must include the starter cultures Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Other major-brand yogurts include one or two additional cultures. But we add four more probiotic cultures to all our yogurts: L. acidophilus, Bifidus, L. casei, and L. rhamnosus. Our yogurt provides a probiotic powerhouse in every serving."
I'm all for probiotics (hotlink to Surely You Nest post on that topic). For the record, I think they need to do more research and the jury's still out on which strains work best with which tummies (they now think probiotics may vary in efficacy depending on the person's gut. Would make sense). But! These free yogurts are perfectly packaged to send to daycare, take outside for a picnic, or take to work in your lunch. Unless you are making your own and storing it in plastic jars in which case by all means take a pass. And by the way? Sardines and anchovies? Not at *all* yucky. (Sorry, *katydidnot*...dim sum heretic....)
Leave a comment if you want a coupon for a free 6-pack of YoMommy organic yogurt or YoBaby yogurt (which now comes in plain!). If there are lots of comments, I will use a random number generator named EGirl to figure out winners. Submit your comment by COB EST on Friday, April 18th and I'll announce the winners Monday (I got 5 of each so there will be 10 winners. And no, I did not receive a dime for this shameless promotion of eco-shwag for my devoted readers).
Monday, April 14, 2008
Free Mom/Baby Organic Yogurt!
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26 comments:
So glad to hear they're finally making a plain version. We only eat plain yogurt (local from our farmers market) because of the sugar factor. But now I'm curious to try fish yogurt! :)
Yum! Baby Pooh Bear luvs him some yogurt! We already buy the plain SF yogurt. It's the only "baby food" he allows me to feed him. Ten months is sooooo old.
I love Stonyfield
We're moving to the 'make your own" route too. Although, for now at least, I think we might make our own with every other batch or so. We'll see how it fits into the schedule!
Saw your post on DCUM - my son loves yogurt and would love to taste the new Stoneyfield ones.
Just a note - I'm originally from Bulgaria (where lactobacilicus bulgaricus originates) and ever since I moved to the US 13 years ago I have been on the quest for the perfect "real" yogurt. Well, a few years back we discovered Yerivan, sold in Whole Foods and it is the best yogurt yet - all natural, plain, no additives and tastes like the yogurt my mom used to feed me when I was little. My son has had it since he was 5 months old and he loves it.
My son would love to try some of that yogurt!
He's been eating Erivan yogurt from Whole foods since he was 5 months old and loves it.
I'll have to check Erivan out - i think I've seen it but am usually driven to the organic/grassfed lot. Thanks!
I feed him the SF whole milk plain flavor yogurt although at times I'll buy the YoBaby.
He loves yogurt! I'm so proud of my little guy. Glad to hear SF is making a plain Yobaby version. We'll gladly try it :)
yes yes yes please
That's great to hear about plain yogurt. My DD loves both the yobaby yogurt and plain greek yogurt.
I would love a coupon -- my youngest survives off of YoBaby yogurt and I am probably keeping them in business right now. :-)
Would love to try the yogurt. Anjana_rn@hotmail.com
Very cool - I'm a new mom who already likes Stonyfield yogur, but I didn't realize they had a "Yo Mommy" blend. Sounds like a good way for a nursing mom like me to get my calcium and Omega 3s!
We use the regular SFF yogurt but have not yet tried either yo baby or yo mama (would like to). i am also going to look for the Erivan!
I'd be very careful of Stonyfield products.
Last month they recalled their "organic" blueberry no-fat yogurt cups because, as it turned out, the Agri-business supplier of the fruit included a "moisture absorbant" in the fruit. Both companies have avoided stating just what this substance is that they have fed to countless consumers.
hi, my son loves the yobaby and has been eating it for months now but i checked today and saw the plastic was marked with the #6--one of the bad plastics making the news these days. I was shocked and can't find any more information about their packaging, it seems the adult versions of stuff is packaged in #5, the safe plastic, so why is the baby yogert an exception? any info. would be appreciated, thanks.
anon and t's mama: I will email the pr person back and ask about moisture absorber and #6 plastic issue - will let you know what I find out. Thanks! MamaBird
We are currently vacationing close to Stoneyfield Farm country and since they have been renovating their yogurt plants (it's been at least 1 1/2 yrs), they have suspended yogurt tours. Since you have the inside scoop on Stoneyfield, can you ask when they might be open for tours again? We loved the free yogurt and video the last time we went but we're huge fans and want to see how the yogurt is actually made and hear about the good stuff that the company does! :)
I just happened across this when searching on Yo Baby Yogurt. I called the customer service rep about #6 plastic used in the baby containers. He stated that since the package is smaller, a sturdier plastic is needed than # 5 plastic.
Here is the info I received (from the Stonyfield PR person) on the #6 polystyrene used in the containers for the smaller YoBaby products.
"First, none of our packaging contains BPA, the chemical currently in the news and which is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins.
As for our use of polystyrene #6, we hope you'll be reassured to learn that #6 containers are considered safe for food use by the both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Union (EU). The FDA requires the styrene content of the packaging be less than 5,000 parts per million (ppm). The styrene content in Stonyfield Farm's polystyrene
packaging does not exceed 400 ppm.
Because the use of any plastic can have an adverse effect on the
environment, we continuously search for packaging materials with lower
environmental impacts. For now, we believe the best option for our
small cups is polystyrene since it allows us to reduce the overall
amount of packaging material we use - less packaging means less
consumption of resources, less pollution and less solid waste."
I'm posting this here in case someone searches and finds/reads only this post, not subsequent updates.
MamaBird on #6 plastic: most health info I've seen (Green Guide, Breast Cancer Fund) says to avoid #6 plastic -- even if it's safe to eat out of, it's not recyclable and I'll bet the manufacturing process is no great shakes. Guess we all need to get on that making-our-own-yogurt kick.
This info is kind of interesting in that the supplier basically avoids the question posed (which was to *identify* said moisture absorbent:
“Our facility, which supplies a fruit component to Stonyfield, conducted an initial review and identified an isolated incident involving a moisture absorbent commonly found in food packaging and which is safe to humans. We have cooperated fully with the FDA, which has reviewed our operations. At no time did any of our products pose a threat to the health and safety of consumers.”
Unnamed ingredients in food? No thanks!
Mama Bird,
I am glad you have pointed out the #6 plastic. I called Stoneyfield and their customer rep said" we feel our #6 is safe.". Sorry ,but I am not buying . They are no longer a "family" run business (purchased by a large corporation) and it shows.
I have been buying their yo baby yogurt for my son for years and never thought to look at the type of plastic! I trusted them, ahhh another case of having to "keep your eyes open". I am going to blog about this on my site and hope that moms and dads give them a call and let them know that #6 , even their safe #6, is not okay with us. 1 800-776-2697.
By the way, after doing some diggin g I found that they have been using #6 for their yo baby since at least 2006 and there have been no changes. The customer rep said they are looking for alternatives, how long does that take??
I call them too. Regarding # 6 in the button of their container in the yobaby yogurt; and they told me that is safe. But guess what? I don't belive them. I'm not going to buy this product again.
Anybody knows where can i find baby organic yogurt and has not toxins in the containers?
Anonymous - just buy larger containers of yogurt (they are in #5 - safer plastic) and package them smaller yourself. Use baby food jars. HTH
Thank you mamabird for the advice.
I just wondering if i can find the ones with cereal & fruit in it and dha + iron. To be honest the yobaby yogurt are really good, they should be more carefuly about it.
Thank you so much again.
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