Total Greek yogurt has vanished

[cdh]

Went into my local TJ's the other day to pick up some stuff, amongst that stuff was intended to be some of the wonderful Total greek yogurt that I've become hooked on over the past couple of years. When I looked in the fridge there were no signs of any Total products, and no evidence that they'd ever been there... not even a price label on the shelf. The shelves were newly rearranged and stocked with lots of domestic yogurt and no Greek yogurt. Grrrrrr...

Bewildered, I picked up the rest of the stuff I'd come after and checked out. I asked what the deal with the missing yogurt was, and the cashier told me that it had been pulled because it had been being imported illegally, and had been busted. He said it should be back in 3 or 4 months after it got its paperwork in order.

I can find no corroboration to this tale with a few web searches, so was wondering if others have noted the absence of Total yogurts from their store shelves.

I'm wondering if it is a USDA thing, or a Penna. Dept. of Ag. thing, or if the story was apocryphal. I can think of no reason for the store to voluntarily pull the product, since the cashier himself said that it was one of their top sellers...

I certainly hope that it returns quickly... but I'd like to know just what I'm being protected from by its removal from the market.

Edited September 8, 2004 by cdh (log)

[Hest88]

Here's the long Chowhound thread about it:

http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards...ages/97821.html

[wnissen]

My Trader Joe's in Pleasanton, CA continues to carry several varieties of Total. I didn't ask about it, but this doesn't appear to be a national supply problem. Weird.

Walt

[russ parsons]

three words: strauss family creamery. their yogurt is amazing (and, amazingly, in trader joe's)

[Carolyn Tillie]

I saw that thread on Chowhound as well but was surprised as the Napa TJs is fully stocked. It is also carried at The Cheesemaker's Daughter in Sonoma.

I've been buying the small, single-serving versions with honey... Great for breakfast!

[redfox]

three words: strauss family creamery. their yogurt is amazing (and, amazingly, in trader joe's)

←

Their yogurt is delicious, but it's nothing like Total.

[Maison Rustique]

I just bought Total at TJ's (Mission Viejo) about 3 days ago. They were fully stocked.

[GG Mora]

Here's the only news item I cold find on the issue: Total Tale in Boston Globe.

Perhaps the ban hasn't quite gotten around, and those fully stocked shelves will wiped clean any day now...

[hjshorter]

Oh no!

Going to TJ's tonight to stock up - if I still can.

[cdh]

Hmmm... following up on the Boston Globe article with a little google work, it appears that there are only four dairies in the world outside of the USA certified as Interstate Milk Shippers... which means that any and all Greek yogurt from Greece is an illegal alien in the USA.

Here are the foreign certified dairies: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ear/imssl-fr.html

Now what is it I'm being protected from by this governmental regulation again? Also, anybody out there have a cite to the USC or CFR where one could peruse the actual language of the law that the FDA is trying to enforce?

Edited September 8, 2004 by cdh (log)

[mighty quinn]

this is such a big crock! doesn't the FDA have anything better to do with it's time and energy?? i love that yogurt and had even found a source for it here in Richmond. i'm not dead, so it must be OK to eat. WTF over!

[Andrew Fenton]

Total yogurt is an excellent product. Equal, or almost equal, in quality to a good yogurt from a small dairy, but available at the supermarket. (They also make a pretty good feta; I'll have to see if that's still available). What I really like are their individual-sized yogurt cups that come with a little container of Greek honey: fragrant and tasting like the flowers of Mt. Hymettus. See, now I'm jonesing for yogurt...

[kitwilliams]

Easy solution: Buy the Strauss Family yogurt. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Fill with yogurt. Cover. Set over a bowl. Refrigerate overnight. Voila: Greek yogurt. Add your swirl of honey and you're in business.

[gariotin]

I work for one of the importers of the total yogurt - it's not illegal, it's just that by lacking these papers they've been trying to get for years (!), big chains like TJ, Whole Foods, etc are nervous about carrying the product. Small independents are filling in the gaps in most areas, but they just don't have the same geographical coverage. We are very bummed as well - sitting on a lot of (dated) product and sales have fallen dramatically. We have not been told it is illegal to import or distribute the product.

[marlena spieler]

I echo the sentiment that the delicious Straus is wonderful.........

but it is a different kettle of fermented milk from the Greek yogurt. Total IS good, even my friends in Greece who deal with artisanal local yogurts agree that if an artisanal yogurt--scooped from its ceramic bowl, thickly creamy, tangily lactic, fresh and rich--is NOT available, then Total is v good.

what i would do to get you through the time wait for Total to return to TJs, is go to a shop that specializes in middle eastern products and buy laban. in san francisco go to 22nd and irving, there are about 3 at least different laban companies. and the cheapest one is actually the best.

marlena

Edited September 11, 2004 by marlena spieler (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

what i would do to get you through the time wait for Total to return to TJs, is go to a shop that specializes in middle eastern products and buy laban. in san francisco go to 22nd and irving, there are about 3 at least different laban companies. and the cheapest one is actually the best.

Is laban the same as labneh? Because if so, it's pretty easy to make, using the straining method that kitwilliams described above (draining with cheesecloth). If I were Chris, I'd go to Reading Terminal or one of his local yogurteries and get some good yogurt and drain it for a bit.

[marlena spieler]

laban is pretty much the same thing as labneh, and yes, its strained nicely through a cheesecloth until you reach the consistency and thickness you wish, but the core of this whole thing is the yogurt you begin with.

Total, and laban etc are made with a rich whole milk, often enriched or made entirely with sheeps milk, and also the bacteria are not particularly tangy, rather more subtle.....so the strained yogurt you end up with is accordinly sweet and smooth.

a nice tangy yogurt, strained, will give you a nice tangy strained yogurt. delicious, totally delicious, esp if you use strauss' yogurt, but it will be different from Total.

But you you have local yogurt-eries? if so, check out the different qualities in the yogurt and for a Total-ly experience, use a sweet mild one.

on the other hand, just wait for total to return to tj and use this time period to explore the world of straining yogurt using different types of the fermented milk.......

marlena

[therese]

A visit to Dekalb Farmers Market in Atlanta yesterday yielded the usual large stock of Total yogurt. Turnover there is extremely high, so if there were a problem with availability I'd expect to see it there. I did pick up an extra container, just in case.

[Suzanne F]

My local store had plenty. I'm still getting used to the name change, though; Fage??? isn't that the thing that eats, not that which is eaten?

[Marmish]

Since Trader Joe's is no longer convenient to me, I buy Krinos Homestyle Greek Yogurt. I like it just as well, maybe better, than Total. While Krinos products seem to be pretty common (at least in these parts) not many places carry the yogurt.

[Tess]

Marmish, where in Chciago are you finding the Krinos Yougurt?

[wnissen]

Still enjoying the Total from the Pleasanton, CA Trader Joes. Google news doesn't reveal any new stories since 24 Sep, so who knows what's going on. I hope it doesn't disappear here, because we love the cup with honey, and have started to use it in place of sour cream in everything.

Walt

[Squeat Mungry]

I don't make it to Trader Joe's very often, not having a car, but Yum! on Market Street here in San Francisco had it as of a couple of weeks ago.

Cheers,

Squeat

[Marmish]

Marmish, where in Chciago are you finding the Krinos Yougurt?

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Sorry, I just saw your question. At Caputo's on Harlem in Elmwood Park.

[M. Lucia]

Here's an article about Total's problems in the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Oct26.html