K.J. Burrington

Whenever I travel outside of the United States, I always look forward to visiting local grocery stores to see their selection of dairy products.

In my history with this column, I have written about traditional fermented dairy topics like yogurts, sour cream, kefirs, and the ingredients they use. 

Whether it is your favorite spoonable or drinkable yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese spread, or a sour cream-topped baked potato, we all enjoy eating cultured products. However, we often overlook their potential as ingredients in many of the foods we enjoy every day.  

The Standard of Identity (SOI) for yogurt was established in 1981. But now the SOI is changing and products may not meet new FDA standards; what you need to know to meet federal standards to use the term “yogurt” on the label. 

The rise of flexitarianism among consumers has led to diversification and innovation in the category.

Being aware of the sources of the problem in cultured products will help prevent the problem from occurring.

There were over 2,000 new cultured products introduced worldwide in the past two years with a reduced-, low- or no-added-sugar claim, according to Innova Market Insights’ new product database. 

Immune health has never been more important than it is today. Cultured dairy products are uniquely positioned to address this important health trend. 

Looking at the top 10 list of health positioning for new yogurt products worldwide over the last two years (based on a report from Innova Market Insights), it is a bit surprising that “no-/low-/reduced-fat” tops the list, with “high source of protein” coming in a close second.

Although many consumers would say that “flavor rules,” texture is close behind. When it comes to cultured dairy products, smooth and creamy is always the target, and textural attributes such as grainy, gel-like, shrunken, weak or ropy are typically considered defects.