Dear Members:

I see there's been some discussion earlier in this thread about Dannon's new Light & Fit yogurt. I work for Dannon and want to thank you for sharing your comments. I also want to make sure you have our perspective on this.
Dannon Light & Fit is still the lowest calorie yogurt available. Similar products from other major brands are about 100 calories. The 20 calorie increase, from 60 to 80, is mainly due to the new sweetener blend which now includes fructose. Fructose may add a few more calories but when we offered it to consumers in blind taste-tests, the vast majority told us it also makes Dannon Light & Fit much better tasting. We understand that this may not be everyone’s preference and are sorry if it’s not your preference if you’ve tried it, but it was the vast majority’s preference.
We know how important it is to watch calories carefully when trying to manage weight, and we also want to make sure we're providing the best-tasting, most satisfying products possible.
If anyone wants to reach us at Dannon, just visit dannon.com and click on "Contact Dannon".

Regards,

Lisa Moore

Thank you for responding Lisa. I just still can't quite fathom though why any one would prefer to spend an extra 20 calories, eat more sugar and eat MORE chemicals. Just doesn't make sense to me. And everyone I've spoken to, not just the wonderful folks here at 3FC, but those that I personally know, also agree that the taste is no where near as good as it used to be. It is no longer great tasting and satsifying to me.

I have come across many, many brands of yogurt with 80 calories in it. With less sugar and chemicals to boot. Danon used to be the yogurt with the lowest calorie count. They can no longer say that.

I guess the bottom line is, is that I'm hoping (and praying) that enough people will stop buying the product and they will switch it back to the old formula.

I wonder if it's more cost effective to cut it with fructose?

Blind taste tests are all well and good but, if someone is a label reader (like me), it won't matter how wonderful it tastes because it contains things I'm trying to avoid so won't buy it in the first place. I kind of wonder if Dannon has people (high enough up the ladder to provide input) who have actually struggled with and overcome weight issues?

The old formula contained Splenda, and the new aspartame and fructose (not sure if the old formula had any other type of sweetener besides splenda). Aspartame (and fructose) are much less expensive than Splenda - looking at any sweetener aisle in any grocery store will tell you this.

I figured for that reason... I asked so that perhaps the Dannon rep would acknowledge that it was cheaper instead of going the "blind panel prefered it" route.

Wishful thinking, I suppose...

Yeah seriously.

Maybe enough of us will complain and it will be changed back...

Hey, it worked for Coke. Remember when they had to bring back the original flavor?

I thought I was losing it when I couldn't find it. I don't normally eat a lot of yogurt but every now and then I want it.

Now I have to research making my own.

I sent the company an email a week ago and basically received the same thing from Lisa Moore that she posted. I also noted in my email that there was a LOT of complaining going on at various diet sites, including 3FC. At least some one read what I wrote. I will NEVER buy a product with aspartame because it gives me headaches and keeps me awake. I still haven't found a substitute. How in the world does plain fat-free yogurt have more calories than the Danon had?

I bought the new formulation by mistake, and thought it tasted weird.

For me, 20-30 calories IS a big deal. I ate one or two EVERY day.

Mel

We all have to find a new yogurt, if we continue to buy it, they will continue to go with the new formula. I was also good for 2 a day, one for breakfast and one in the freezer at night for a sorbet kind of treat

One reason could be that the Dannon was/is bulked up with artificial sweeteners (and possibly other ingredients to add bulk, such as modified food starch, inulin, polydextrose, and other pseudo fiber substitutes that have questionable, if any, nutritional value--there was a big article on this in the last Nutrition Action newsletter). These ingredients have volume and weight but few or no calories (or nutritional value). So you're getting more yogurt (and more nutrition) for the same volume/weight with the plain, fat-free yogurt.

It's just like the chicken sold by Safeway Rancher's Reserve, which has 110 calories per 4 oz. Normally chicken has 120 calories or more per 4 oz. How do you make chicken lower in calories? Do you make the chickens exercise more and eat a low-fat diet? No, don't be silly. You inject the chicken meat with a sodium/water solution, so that a smaller amount of chicken weighs 4 oz. BTW--lest anyone think that I'm immune to these food traps or being self-righteous, the Safeway Rancher's Reserve chicken is my favorite and the only type of chicken I will buy (and one of the things I like about is that it is only 110 calories for a 4 oz serving, plus the added water makes it super juicy and tender) and I'm not adverse to buying a product that is loaded with artificial sweeteners and questionable fiber substitutes if it is lower in calories than the "whole food" product. So, um, "do as I say, not as I do."

But, having said all that, I'm not sure the Dannon did have fewer calories than plain, fat-free yogurt. According to my most recent Nutrition Action newsletter (which had a feature comparing different brands of yogurt), the Dannon Light and Fit yogurt had 60 calories (the newsletter came before the formula change, so I assume they evaluated the original formula yogurt) per 4-oz serving. Trader Joe's and Fage fat free Greek yogurt has 80 calories, but for 5.3 oz of yogurt. That works out to be the same caloric content. Trader Joe's and Fage are 1.325 times the amount of yogurt as the Dannon 60-calorie serving (5.3 oz / 4 oz). 60 calories x 1.325 = 80 calories.

And regular (non-Greek) plain, fat free yogurt is 80 calories for 6 oz. 4 oz of that would be only 53 calories, which is less than was in the Dannon.

Barbara- I did read that article in Nutrition Action, one of my favorite publications. I did not buy the 60 calorie cups, but the 40 calorie 1/2 cup containers, or the large container of Vanilla and ate 1/2 a cup (40 calories). So bumping up to 80 or 100 is a big bump.

I think I'll just skp the yourt and add a pile of fruit to my cottage cheese.

Well, that hardly makes sense if it's the calories you're worried about. Cottage cheese, even fat free, has more calories than plain non-fat yogurt. 1/2 cup of FF cottage cheese has 80 calories. 1/2 cup of plain, fat free yogurt has around 50 calories (60 calories for Greek-style), which is pretty comparable to your 40-calorie Dannon yogurts.

Oh Robin, my grocery store has the 60 calorie stuff! I wanted to box it all up and ship it to you!!!!

Oh I am soooo incredibly jealous!!!!

I will admit that I've succumbed and have been eating the 80 calorie ones. For now anyway. I know this sounds terribly lame, but right now I haven't the time to experiment with new foods. I will get around to it though. I DO hate giving them the business after they messed with one of my staples. I have found a couple of flavors that I can tolerate. Like the vanilla and the lemon. Some of them are totally unedible though. I am fortunate that I don't get headaches like some of you experience. I have cut down on the amount though. I haven't eaten more then 2 on any given day.