We're all familiar with Pinkberry, Hollywood's favorite upscale franchise of frozen desert restaurants that boasted a healthy, natural (and pricey) alternative to the popular but old-fashioned ice cream. Trouble is, most of the brand's advertising was centered around the claim that Pinkberry was an all-natural snack; however, it recently turned out that it's not actually meeting the California Department of Food and
Agriculture's definition of frozen yogurt since it does not contain the necessary amount of bacterial cultures per ounce. Which basically means that what most of us believed was a frozen yogurt is actually a very tasty combination of frozen ingredients - but no real yogurt. File this under "un-healthy and tasty" and buckle up for a major scandal.
As a result, Pinkberry might have to change their original dry mix formula, as well as the way in which it's manufactured. The main problem seems to result from the fact that California authorities clearly state that all frozen yogurt products should be pasteurized at the plant where they are processed and
where the packaging takes place. However, lawyers for the producers of the miracle yogurt have complained that their expert department came to the conclusion that the compulsory pasteurization process compromises the product quality - its signature tart taste.
At the moment, the company has taken out any and all references to frozen yogurt from its marketing materials. On its website, the product is described as "chilly bliss, honest food and dessert reinvented". There is also a message directed at the consumers, stating that "as some of you are aware, claims have been made recently about the nature of our products... We are, of course, investigating these claims and look forward to being able to demonstrate the quality of our product". Until Pinkberry sorts itself out, a word of caution for its die-hard fanatics: it would probably not be a very good idea to keep eating the stuff unless you know for sure exactly what's in your cup. And I mean that the literal way.