Yogurt

ORIGIN OF INDUSTRIALIZED YOGURT

Yogurt processing in industrial scale is necessary when meeting a great demand of products is desired. Food technology allows maintaining the industrialized yogurt quality and safety standards for the final product consumption.

The growing demand turned the yogurt market attractive, and many companies started competing for the consumers preference. Currently, the competition between companies usually focus on the products differentiation, originating a wide variety of yogurts in the market, such as natural yogurts, by adding honey, fruit, and cereals, light/zero, functional and fortified, organic, regional and made with different types of mild (in addition to cow milk, the most common).

At that period, writings of Indian Ayurvedic medicine reported the benefits that fermented dairy products consumption provide to human health.

Elaborated in Rome, the Pliny’s work The Elder mentions the preparation of fermented milk with a pleasant acidity, and its consumption as a food with therapeutic properties.

Introduction of yogurt in Western Europe. The habit of consuming yogurt with fruits, aromatic ingredients, sweets, etc, is developed.

At the beginning of this century, yogurt was sold in drugstores as a product with benefits to the health. In 1919, industrial production starts in Spain. In 1929, the first retail store is opened in France. In 1941, the first factory is opened in the United States. In the 50s and 60s, yogurt becomes a popular food.