Why Do Coffee Ingredients Labels Face New Scrutiny?
On March 13, the Shanghai Consumer Council named the tea brand Mo Yogurt, questioning the ingredient composition of its Mango Yogurt Smoothie. Testing found only a small amount of yogurt, unusually high fat, and both sucrose and maltose despite a no-added-sugar label. The council asked Mo Yogurt to explain what was added, and the topic trended on Weibo.
The move followed the council's spot checks on freshly made yogurt drinks from several tea brands and its public criticism of Shuyi Fairy Grass's Strawberry Bobo Yogurt. For coffee ingredients and other beverages, the case highlights label accuracy: fat and sugar readings that do not match stated contents raise questions about transparency. Coffee and beverage industry watchers continue to follow such food safety topics.
Following the incident with Shuyi Fairy Grass, the Shanghai Consumer Council on March 13 once again turned its attention to the internet-famous tea brand Mo Yogurt, focusing on the ingredient composition of its "Mango Yogurt Smoothie." Testing by the Consumer Council revealed that the drink contained only a small amount of yogurt, yet its fat content was unusually high, and sucrose and maltose were detected despite the label stating no added sugar. The Consumer Council questioned the source of this excess fat and sugar, demanding that Mo Yogurt explain to consumers "what was added." The incident quickly sparked widespread discussion and trended on Weibo. This article sorts through the testing data and educational information released by the Consumer Council to present the full picture of the incident. For readers interested in coffee and beverage industry trends, Front Street Coffee also continues to follow such food safety topics and advocates for transparent consumption.
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Before the uproar over Shuyi Fairy Grass had subsided, on March 13 the Shanghai Consumer Council turned its attention to another tea beverage brand—Mo Yogurt—questioning the ingredient composition of its "Mango Yogurt Smoothie."
Previously, the Shanghai Consumer Council had conducted spot checks on freshly made yogurt products from several well-known tea beverage brands on the market and raised questions via its official WeChat public account about Shuyi Fairy Grass's "Strawberry Bobo Yogurt." On March 12, regarding the yogurt content in that drink, the Consumer Council publicly called out Shuyi Fairy Grass again, stating that it "should sincerely apologize to consumers."
Yesterday, the Shanghai Consumer Council published an article naming Mo Yogurt, pointing out that its "Mango Yogurt Smoothie" drink did not use much yogurt, yet its fat content was quite high, and sucrose and maltose were also detected in the sample. In the article, the Consumer Council questioned that the excess fat in Mo Yogurt's drink did not come from yogurt or mangoes, "so Mo Yogurt needs to explain to consumers what was added to the Mango Yogurt Smoothie?"
On the same day, the topic #ShanghaiConsumerCouncilNamesMoYogurt# quickly climbed onto Weibo's trending list.
In introducing the "Mango Yogurt Smoothie," Mo Yogurt listed the ingredient information as: 9 probiotic grassland yogurt × fresh mango.
According to testing data released by the Shanghai Consumer Council, in the Mo Yogurt Mango Yogurt Smoothie sample it purchased, the protein content was 0.75g/100g, the fat content was 2.44g/100g, and the lactose content was 0.88g/100g. As a control, the Consumer Council also tested a prepackaged yogurt sample with a relatively simple ingredient list, which had a protein content of 4g/100g, fat of 5g/100g, and lactose of 3g/100g.
The Shanghai Consumer Council also provided educational information in the article: the nutritional components of milk mainly include protein, fat, and lactose. Among them, protein content is usually between 2.5% and 4%, and it is a complete protein containing all the amino acids needed by the human body. Fat content varies by type; whole milk has a fat content of about 3.2%. Lactose is the natural sugar in milk, with a content of about 4.5% to 4.8%.
The nutritional components of yogurt are similar to those of milk, but because it undergoes lactic acid bacteria fermentation, most of the lactose is broken down into lactic acid, so its lactose content is relatively lower, and it is also easier to digest and absorb.
Comparing the protein and lactose contents in the testing data, it can be found that the amount of yogurt used in Mo Yogurt's "Mango Yogurt Smoothie" with a net content of 420g was not much, while the fat content was abnormally high, reaching 3.25 times the protein content and 2.77 times the lactose content. The Consumer Council believes that this excess fat certainly did not come from yogurt, nor would it come from mangoes.
In addition, the Shanghai Consumer Council also questioned the sources of sucrose and maltose in the drink. The Consumer Council stated that the order for the Mo Yogurt drink it purchased noted "no additional sugar," but the test results showed a sucrose content of 4.2g/100g and a maltose content of 0.38g/100g.
The Shanghai Consumer Council believes that because foods made and sold on site do not have an explicitly stated product ingredient list, consumers can only understand and choose products through the brand's promotional content. Therefore, brands have a responsibility to provide true and accurate product information.
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
