Many frozen yoghurt outlets are making dodgy health claims and some may be breaching consumer law according to consumer organisation Choice, which is calling for a nationally consistent kilojoule-labelling system for take-away food.
Choice said it investigated five frozen yoghurt (froyo) businesses - WowCow, Mooberry, Yogurtland, Yogurberry and Zwirl - and found potential regulatory breaches relating to pricing and health claims in some outlets.
Angela McDougall, a food policy advisor at Choice, said these claims have been referred to NSW Food Authority, which is now investigating the issue.
According to McDougall, frozen yoghurt shops often market their products as a low-fat, low-kilojoule, high-calcium healthy treat. They also spruik their fresh fruit toppings, beneficial cultures, antioxidant-rich goji or acai berries and even omega-3 to distinguish their products from other chilly treats.
However, she said froyo was not a health food and it’s unlikely to give consumers the outlandish health benefits claimed by some stores, like slowing the body’s ageing process.
“If you enjoy froyo, it's important to think of it as a naughty treat like you would ice cream, rather than some healthy alternative with magical properties,” McDougall said.
“Frozen yoghurt may sound healthy, but consumers need to know that it is a dessert treat, particularly in large amounts and smothered with sugary toppings.”
According to Choice, frozen yoghurts have about half the calcium content of regular, unsweetened yoghurt and 1.5 times the kilojoule count from the added sugar.
Yoghurt is milk and live cultures fermented to create a distinctive sour taste. Commercial yoghurts may also contain added sugar, artificial sweeteners, or added cream, milk solids, gelatin and gums to create texture.
However, according to Choice, it’s difficult for consumers to know how froyo stacks up against regular chilled yoghurt because the nutrition and ingredient information in many shops is non-existent or incomplete.
Choice said that according to Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, take-away shops selling unpackaged foods should be able to provide nutrition information on request. If a nutrition or health claim is made about the food, a nutrition label should be available.
“Consumers are also met with a barrage of health claims in many froyo shops - of the ones we visited, WowCow was the only one that did not make any health claims and was the only one able to produce nutrition information in-store,” said McDougall.
Choice says some frozen yoghurt outlets may be breaching Australian consumer law.
