Squeezy yoghurt pouches can be a popular snack or lunchbox filler, but some are less healthy than others. Do you buy yoghurt pouches, and if so which ones?
We review popular supermarket yoghurt:
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No, as they are a very expensive way to buy yoghurt. One is better off buying a container (say 1 or 2kg) and putting it into ones own reusable container. There is also nothing wrong with your child using a spoon.
However, if one is after convenience, it is even possible to get reusable âsqueezyâ pouches on-line for a couple of dollars for a setâŠthen your child wonât feel left out and will have their own (parent filled) squeezy pouch. The other advantage is it reduces the amount of single use plastic used for food.
Filling your own lets you know that the yoghurt is fresh (if you make your own like we do) and what is in it. You can also add stewed fruit (like strawberries, apple or rhubarb) as a treat.
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No.
Those things suck! The pricing is aimed at the uber-rich who canât be bothered to dispense food to their kids. Far easier to flick some prepackaged junk into their brand name lunch totes. Never mind the enviromental cost for all that extra packaging.
Surveys have shown that the majority of kids have no idea where their food really comes from. Soon kids will all be under the misapprehension that they are consuming space food servied in suck-on containers to prevent spillage in weightlessness.
Cynical??? Me???
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I buy them.
I was very politely asked by my sonâs teachers NOT to send him with traditional yogurt tubs and spoons because of the mess.
Also, I work full time and donât really have the time to fill or wash reusable squeezy pouches. (I know exactly what is involved, I made all of his baby food and used reusable squeezy pouches back when I was at home).
Iâm not âuber richâ. If I was, maybe I would be less time poor⊠but at this point the small cost vs the time involved is a trade off I will make.
Thanks for the judgement, but I think my son is doing just fine with squeezy yogurt pouches that I can throw into his plain and simple Target lunch bag with a sandwich and other carefully selected pre-packaged snacks and fruit before I go to work at 6:30am.
I usually compare the options at the supermarket, selecting those with lower amounts of sugar per 100g, and balancing that with price. We usually get Brownes pouches when theyâre on special. I keep an eye out for the multi-buy deals that often happen and stock the freezer. His preference for taste is definitely Brownes.
Brownes didnât make Choiceâs list, possibly because its a WA product. See nutritional panel below.
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Choice gets some kudos on Nine.com.au.
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@BrendanMays, I wonder if there is an issue with all yoghurt pouches. It could be an oversight in the Choice review. As yogurt have low pH levels (generally between 4.4 and 4.8), squeezing the yoghurt direct from the pouch means that when squeezed, the yoghurt from the packaging comes into direct contact with the teeth (unlike spooned yoghurt which first goes on the tongue/palate then a smaller proportion may contact the teeth when swallowing).
Acid foods (e.g. soft drink, juices and yoghurt) coming in direct contact with young (and even adult teeth) is known to cause decay and corrosion of the teethâŠcausing long term teeth damage and expensive dental repairs.
Maybe Choice should speak to the Australian Dental Association to see their view on the risks. If squeezy yoghurt has the same risks as other acid convenience foods due to the nature of yogurt dispensing from this particular packaging, this may be something to warn all parents who use squeeze yoghurts as a regular convenience food.
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There is no reference to acidic issues in the following, but page 14 reflects the problem. Sugar.
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The link in the previous post had information presented at the US Academy of General Dentistryâs Annual Meeting & ExhibitsâŠwhich indicates that evidence exists.
This is from the US American Dental Association Mouth Heathy
websiteâŠ
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/e/dietary-acids-and-your-teeth
Edit: I should also say that yoghurt is a fantastic food to eat for its nutritional and potentially microbiological properties - to be clear I am not knocking yoghurtâŠbut, with this newer form of squeezy packaging and food dispensing into the mouth (like a straw where particularly in children, the food comes in direct contact with teeth), there could be new risks created which would not otherwise have occurred with more traditional eating methods.
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The way the yogurt initially meets the teeth may be different but that doesnât mean that eating it from pouches has a different effect on teeth. There are 100 views about yogurt and teeth, many say that the calcium and probiotics are beneficial, almost all say sweetened yogurt is to be avoided and some say it makes the mouth less acid not more. Some will tell you that yogurt is the next teeth superfood!
Any dental hygienists or dentists there who might weigh in?
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Tooth Mousse was developed from Milk as it was noticed that consuming milk based products often led to tooth health improvements. I would assume that the calcium and phosphate ions are present in Yoghurt and would similarly be helpful in replacing those ions lost from enamel because of acidic action.
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⊠not to mention incredibly inefficient use of packaging and drowning in a sea of plastic ⊠though at least the caps are typically âbreathe-throughâ 
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Its all relative though. Selected with a little bit of care (and the health star ratings do help generally with this), yoghurt pouches are a reasonably healthy packaged snack for lunch boxes. In a lunchbox with a low fat cheese on rye sandwich, a piece of fruit or two, a container of corn kernels, a packet of mini rice cakes, a small UHT milk box and maybe a higher star rated muesli bar, i think the kid will be ok. His dentist is happy enough with his teeth.
Theyâre certainly a lot better than the junk that went into my lunch box in the 90s⊠chips, roll ups, LCMs, Dunkaroos, âSnack Packâ custards, âjuiceâ boxes⊠Iâd already had several fillings by his age!!
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I was pretty stunned to read all the information provided by Choice on the yoghurt pouches but just a few words about the waste factor of these products. This is not good packaging and definitely not good role modelling for children. This sort of packaging, regardless of its convenience, needs to be banned, and if that means the product goes off the shelves, so be it. Itâs well and truly time we took all non-recyclable packaging off supermarket and other store shelves - bricks and mortar or online stores. .Manufacturers would very soon develop recyclable packaging alternatives!!
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Welcome to the Community @Chris7
I have moved your post into this already existing topic on the Squeezy Pouch youghurts.
I think many of us agree with the view that the pouches are a waste both environmentally and as a added price to the cost of the yoghurt.
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I apologise, and acknowledge that my comment do not represent all parents. I was of course generalising.
I still believe that far too many parentls buy small repackaged food items without due consideration of the nutritional/health value of the food, or as others have written the environmental cost. They buy them because it is easy.
I am most surprised that teachers would ask you to buy pouch products instead of using re-usable containers, as it runs counter to what is being taught in schools around environmental awareness. I would have thought that suggesting decanting the runny yoghurt into something like a used small (300ml?) water bottle which can be reused over and over would be more environmentally friendly and achieve their desire for less mess. Perhaps the teachers need educating?
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I can imagine that residue left in reusable containers could be a new problem. Children are, their manners vary, and having to potentially wash up or clean up after each snack and meal time could become overwhelming.
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I think I should point out, because it appears to have been missed, the Brownes pouches we buy are eligible for RedCycle with the lid left on (which is visible in the picture I shared). A quick search of the RedCycle site informs me that ALL yoghurt pouches with lids still on (as well as baby food pouches) can go into the RedCycle bin at Coles.
Considering we live in an area with no kerbside recycling, that makes them better environmentally than standard plastic yogurt containers which go into the general waste, and no worse than make-your-own yogurt sachets.
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