Frequently Asked Questions

In order to grow, lactic cultures require heat and a source of milk sugar (lactose) on which to feed. They all have an optimal heat at which to grow (between 40-50°C).

The unique EasiYo Urn produces the controlled heat needed to activate all the LACTIC CULTURES present in the EasiYo Base and Culture Sachets. Our freeze dried cultures reactivate and divide in the perfect conditions in the EasiYo Yogurt Maker urn

YES. It is guaranteed. If you experience any problems at all, simply contact your account manager at EasiYo.

Clean with a damp cloth only. Do not immerse Yogurt Maker Urn in water.

The contents of the yogurt sachets consist of the highest quality New Zealand milk powder and lactic cultures.

They do not contain stabilisers, emulsifiers, artificial colouring or preservatives. All the flavours are nature identical (meaning they are derived from the plant or fruit they are named after, or from other vegetable or fruit with similar elements).

You just add clean drinking water.

All EasiYo yogurts contain Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Some certain products also contain the Bifidobacteria strain. The combination gives EasiYo its wonderful taste and texture.

All the EasiYo Yogurt sachets contain no artificial colouring, no stabilizers, emulsifiers or preservatives!

The flavours are nature identical ie. from a natural vegetable source but not necessarily from the flavour named ie. citric acid can be obtained from various sources, some more reliable than others, so the flavours are made up from elements combined together to make a flavour resemble what it is copying. These flavours are usually more shelf stable than natural flavours which is the reason so many manufacturers use them. NONE of our flavours are artificial. They are all derived from naturally occurring compounds. They are all approved by the NZ & Australian Food Regulations Authority.

Yes, it is EasiYo company policy to not use genetically modified ingredients in any of their products.

None of the EasiYo Yogurt Bases contain any gluten or wheat.

Yes, soya lecithin is present in small amounts in the whole milk powder to help the fat dissolve in water easily. It is not present in the skim milk powder but we have to state it on the packaging as there may be traces.

Yes. However, as they contain dairy, they are not suitable for vegans.

Lactose intolerance occurs when an individual lacks the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose into simple sugars. EasiYo yogurts typically contain around 3% lactose in the final product. This is slightly less than cow's milk (~4.6%).

Some of the lactose is broken down into lactic acid during fermentation. However, it is thought that yogurt is particularly special because the yogurt cultures contain enzymes which are released in the intestine that can break down the lactose. This is why yogurt with even comparable lactose content to standard milk may be suitable for mildly lactose intolerant people.

You can make yogurt any way you like to, but we suggest that all other ways of making yogurt are unreliable, messy and time-consuming. The EasiYo system is designed to eliminate the hassles of incubating and stabilising milk. The EasiYo system is designed to make yogurt easy and affordable so that you make delicious yogurt every time.

EasiYo plain and unsweetened low fat yogurts have no added sugar making them suitable for diabetics.

It is a suggested best before date only, not a use by date! If it makes yogurt then it has produced lactic acid which bad bugs can't live in, so it is perfectly OK to eat.

EasiYo is a living thing and can change with changes in the tap water temperature for example. Also there can be slight changes in the milk powder between seasons ie. the cows stop milking between April and November in NZ so the milk powder at the beginning and end of a season does vary a small amount.

The yogurt will keep in the EasiYo Urn for up to 24 hours without it being adversely affected.

Whey (the liquid) being 'expressed' from the yogurt is part of a natural process. Commercial chiller yogurts often contain thickeners and stabilisers to absorb the expressed whey, but as EasiYo Yogurt contains no such additives the whey is best mixed back into the yogurt as it is very nutritious.

Alternatively, you may like to strain the whey and make use of it in your cooking.

Up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

It is both pasteurized and also homogenised.

Halal certified shows that the food is prepared in an acceptable way to conform to Muslim custom and EasiYo has been audited and registered as Halal.

As long as your baby can eat solids then he/she can eat EasiYo yogurts. The cultures in EasiYo break down the nutrients into more absorbable forms so plain yogurt is an ideal food for babies.

Yes of course EasiYo yogurt is especially good for pregnant women because it is high in Calcium, protein, vitamins and minerals.

As a dairy product, EasiYo Yogurt does contain a small amount of cholesterol. However the effect of yogurt cultures has been shown to normalise cholesterol in the body. Medical scientists continue to explore the exact mechanisms for this cholesterol lowering effect by beneficial bacteria. They suspect that lactobacillus bacteria and bifidobacteria decrease blood levels of cholesterol by either increased intestinal absorption and removal through solid excretion, or by limiting the conversion of cholesterol back into bile acids for storage in the liver.

Calcium, of which there is an abundance in the EasiYo yogurt, plays a wonderful role in weight management as shown by a wealth of recent research. Children seem to have an ability to know what their body needs (if presented with good healthy food) and as long as there is daily exercise, they can't really overdose on good food.

They do contain casein because they are dairy based.

You can add several tablespoons of sugar before adding the sachet contents. Then proceed with the yogurt making procedure as normal. Alternatively, add sweeteners or honey to your made-up yogurt when it is set.

Add the EasiYo Flavour Toppings after the yogurt is made and chilled.

No, because it upsets the pH balance in the yogurt which can disrupt the culture activity. This defeats the purpose of making fresh yogurt.

The cultures are freeze dried which means all the moisture is extracted and the cultures can 'hibernate' without losing much of their viability. We are currently carrying out testing to prove that lactic acid and probiotic cultures are much more stable and therefore more viable when stored in a dehydrated system (i.e. EasiYo yogurt base) than in made-up form such as store bought yogurt - watch this space for developments!

The cultures we use are freeze dried; a little like a seed that, for a certain period of time, is able to remain in a stable form before it is reactivated. In this dormant state i.e. without moisture or warmth, our cultures are good over the 18-month shelf life of the product. The process we use is designed to maintain the largest number of viable bacteria cultures that can be produced. It is also the method of keeping the most cultures viable for longer!

The very fact that you make your yogurt fresh with EasiYo guarantees the most live cultures you can get. Store bought yogurt may not even have many live cultures left in it once it is finally consumed. This is because cultures have a limited lifetime so you need to eat your yogurt freshly-made. By law, yogurt must contain millions of live cultures per spoonful (at the time of manufacture). A spoonful of EasiYo yogurt contains billions. The important thing with yogurt is to eat it fresh!

The number of live cultures is at its highest on the day that you make your EasiYo Yogurt. 1 gram of freshly-made EasiYo Yogurt after 8 hours in the making process contains around 1 billion live cultures.

EasiYo did extensive research on their cultures to make sure they survive in plentiful numbers for the duration of their made up shelf life i.e. the two weeks indicated on the instructions. The tests on our yogurts indicate there are millions of live cultures still present in every spoonful after these two weeks.

As these cultures are living organisms, the numbers do fluctuate depending on such things as outside temperatures, water temperature etc, but you are always guaranteed "real" yogurt, in other words EasiYo Yogurt always contains cultures in sufficient numbers for the consumer to reap the benefits that only live cultures deliver.

They are made primarily from fruit, with added sugar, maize starch (no gluten and GM free), nature identical flavour, natural colour, preservatives and water. Some contain citric acid to prevent discolouration and loss of flavour.

No. Maize starch is used as the suspending agent in the toppings. Unlike wheat, maize does not normally contain gluten.

Yes. Sucrose and natural fruit sugars.

Preservatives have been added to guarantee the shelf life (prevent the growth of yeast and moulds). They are at levels less than those specified by the New Zealand Food Regulations. They are either 202 potassium sorbate or 223, sodium metabisulphate, or a combination of these two.

No, they don't need refrigeration but in extremely hot climates you may prefer to refrigerate them to prolong the shelf life.