We get this question a lot! Many people think that “Greek yogurt” refers to where we make our yogurt; however, it’s actually the way we make it that puts the “Greek” in Chobani Greek Yogurt.

Unlike some Greek Yogurt companies that add thickening agents to their yogurts for texture, you won’t find any thickeners, gelatins or stabilizers in our yogurt. Instead we use a centuries-old straining technique to remove excess liquid. This is why Chobani is so ridiculously think and creamy and packed with two times more protein that regular yogurts. Hail to the Greeks…Greek Yogurt that is!

There are so many! Where should we start?

Chobani Greek Yogurt is a naturally good for you food. The straining process we use to make it causes it to be packed with twice the protein—34% of your daily value, and naturally lower in sodium (our sodium content is 50% lower than regular yogurts) and carbohydrates.

Chobani Greek Yogurt also contains five types of live and active cultures including three strains of probiotics. Plus, it’s deliciously thick, rich and creamy so it’s an ideal way to satisfy your cravings without derailing your diet.

We use an authentic, family recipe, resulting in the jaw-dropping 14-18g of protein you’ll find in every 6oz cup of Chobani. But that’s not the whole story.

We strain Chobani, which makes it creamy by removing the excess liquid from our yogurt. This liquid consists of water and whey.

Whey is naturally found in milk and contains several nutrients including whey protein. Our proprietary straining process allows us to separate and remove only the liquid portion of the whey, leaving the whey protein.

We do this because our bodies need 20 different types of amino acids for proper growth and muscle development, but we can only make 11 of these. The remaining nine, called essential amino acids, must come from dietary sources like whey protein, which contains all nine essential amino acids.

In fact, whey protein contains more essential amino acids than any other type of protein; Chobani’s high whey protein content makes is a perfect pre- or post-workout fuel.

We use only the highest-quality real fruit—none of that goop you tend to find on the bottom of other yogurt brands.

We then lightly sweeten our real fruit chunks with evaporated cane juice, a natural type of unrefined sweetener.

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to release a formal definition for the term all-natural, to us it recognizes a product as free of processed ingredients along with artificial colors, preservatives, flavors and sweeteners. And that’s exactly what Chobani is.

You won’t see anything listed on our ingredients label that looks like it’s straight from a scary science experiment. Just local milk in our plain varieties, real fruit in our fruit on the bottom Chobani, and pure clover honey in our Honey 0% Chobani.

While Chobani Greek Yogurt isn't organic, we follow many organic production practices:

• Our products are free of antibiotics and synthetic growth hormones (no rBST).
• Many of the farms that we get our milk from keep their cows in free-range conditions from springtime to winter’s first snow fall. (It gets too cold here in Upstate NY to keep cows outside all year long. They would need really big sweaters!)

However, to us it's more important to support local farmers than to be labeled organic. We choose to work with a dairy co-op that sources all of the milk we use in Chobani from farms located within 15 miles of our plant as opposed to having organic milk shipped to us from farther away.

rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin) is a synthetic growth hormone often given to dairy cattle by injection to prevent their milk production from decreasing with age. Doing so can increase milk production by more than 10%.

(According to the FDA, no significant difference has been shown, and no test can now distinguish, between milk from rBST treated cows and untreated cows.) 

Here at Chobani, we use only milk from cows not supplemented with rBST, as some studies show that cows treated with rBST suffer negative health consequences. Plus when milk production is synthetically increased, it can cause an artificially increased milk supply, which may cause dairy farmers, especially those from smaller family-owned farms, to be paid less for the milk they produce.

Live and Active Cultures are living organisms, or “cultures,” added to milk to make yogurt. The two cultures the phrase “live and active cultures,” refers to are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.

These are often called “starter cultures” because when added to milk, they convert the milk into yogurt during fermentation. This fermentation process is what creates yogurt, with its unique taste, texture and health benefits.

We proudly use Live and Active Cultures and don't heat treat our yogurt after fermentation, which can kills these organisms.

Your body is home to billions of bacteria and other organisms. But don’t worry, these are good bacteria that help maintain balance in your digestive tract and boost your immune system.

However, antibiotics, poor nutrition, surgery, stress, alcohol, smoking, pollution, and aging can impair these bacteria.

Probiotics are living organisms found in certain foods and dietary supplements that help replenish and strengthen the bacteria naturally living in your body.

We add three types of probiotic cultures to Chobani Greek Yogurt: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus, and Lactobacillus casei in addition to the starter cultures, or Live and Active Cultures (see question above), needed to make yogurt.

The 7g of sugar that’s listed on the nutrition facts panels of our Plain 0% and 2% Chobani comes from a naturally occurring type of sugar found in all dairy products called “lactose.”

This lactose, often called “milk sugar,” is the only sugar you’ll find as we don’t add sugar to our yogurt.

Sensitivity to lactose varies by person, but many people who experience discomfort from lactose can eat Chobani Greek Yogurt without any negative effects.

This is because Chobani is naturally lower in lactose than regular yogurt due to the straining process we use to make it, which removes much of the lactose from our products.

Also, the probiotic cultures we add our yogurt help to break down lactose so that it’s more easily digested.

Yes! All of our Greek Yogurts are naturally Gluten-Free, which means they contain no wheat, rye, or barley products or other gluten-containing thickeners, gelatins, gum blends or stabilizers.

In fact, our products are certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO). Look for their seal on all Chobani Greek Yogurt varieties.

There are 200mg of calcium in every 6oz cup of Plain Chobani.

Every 6oz cup of Chobani has about 200mg of potassium.

Yes. Frozen Chobani (or “FroCho” as we like to call it) can be frozen and stored for up to three months. While frozen, the cultures become dormant but once thawed, either in the refrigerator or by your body heat when eaten, they become live and active again.

FroCho will have a slightly different texture, whether eaten frozen or thawed, but makes a refreshing treat.

The sell-by date is located on the bottom color band on Chobani cups.

It represents the suggested date that the product should be sold—not the expiration date or when the yogurt will go bad. Up until this date, we expect our yogurt will look and taste its best.

If properly refrigerated, Chobani Greek Yogurt can last for a couple weeks after its sell-by date (located on the bottom rim of our cups). However, you should always use your judgment; if the yogurt looks, smells, and tastes good, and there are no visible signs of mold, it's okay to eat.

Here at Chobani, we’re committed to environmentally responsible production practices, including our packaging.

We recently changed the type of plastic we use to make our cups from #6 to #5, which is more widely recyclable and therefore more Earth (and people) friendly.

We appreciate you commitment to keeping the Earth clean too! Click here to find a recycling center near you: (http://search.earth911.com/?what=%235+Plastic+%28Polypropylene%29).

We love hearing from you and get several new flavor and product ideas every month. Keep ‘em coming! Email us at info@chobani.com.

Please email us at info@chobani.com with all inquiries! Thanks.

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