Thursday, June 30, 2011

Mold

I have to vent for a second.

I have been trying to eat a bit more healthy the past few weeks, buying fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurts and other good-for-you snacks, etc.  And it’s expensive, plain and simple.  But that’s ok, it’s for my health, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But when said health food ends up being disgusting… game over.

I bought 6 Chobani Greek Yogurts last weekend.  They were on sale, so figured I’d try them out.  Picked up two each of blueberry, strawberry, and vanilla.  And now, as I opened the last of them today, 4 of those 6 had mold in them.  Umm… not happening.  Today’s wasn’t too bad, the mold was on the lid, not the actual yogurt, so I was able to wipe it off, and ignore it… I mean, really, mold is just penicillin anyways, right?  But the others, not salvageable at all.  One had it growing across the entire top of the yogurt… yuck.  The other two, not only was it all over the top, it had started to grow down, into the yogurt.

Yogurt meet garbage can.

I have to say, I was severely disappointed.  I’ve had a few other Greek Yogurts before, and they seem ok.  I was hoping this would be equally pleasing, so I would have options when things go on sale.  But as of right now, I don’t think I would even consider buying another Chobani yogurt!  Seriously…

I went back to the store I bough it from, but without the actual product – yes, they wanted to see the moldy yogurt – there was nothing they could do about it.  Since it happened at work, at lunch, I wasn’t about to carry it back to them at the end of the day… something about moldy food sitting on my desk all day just didn’t seem appetizing, nor healthy.

I even emailed the company, to let them know about the mold and the way the grocery store doesn’t care about their product, and they just sent me a form response – “Thank you for your letter.  Please accept these coupons for more of our delicious yogurts.”  Seriously, which part of “never buy it again” did they not understand?

And to be fair… I realize there’s lots of miles between their packaging facility and my stomach, and any number of things could’ve happened to the yogurt while being delivered.  Bad handling on the truck.  The grocer stored it wrong.  Heck, I suppose it could’ve warmed up enough just from me taking it out of the cooler at the store, walking through the checkout, and driving home… but still, lots of other products make it home JUUUuuuuusssttt fine.

But not my yogurt…

Anyone else get a green hairy surprise when they opened some NEW food up? (I mean, on old leftovers, happens all the time…)

8 comments:

Tad said...

Bought a flat of these Chobani yogurts from Costco... so far 2 out of 12 have had mold... still 7 left in the fridge.

The first one I figured was a fluke... 2nd one, not so much. Of course it hasn't stopped me from eating the non-moldy yogurts...

Google shows that this isn't a freak occurrence. apparently there was a recall last fall? I guess they haven't solved all their problems.

Allison said...

Found your blog while doing a search for similar experiences! I've been eating Chobani for over a year now and had several experiences where the single-serving cups were covered in mold. I didn't think anything of it because they were all (seemingly) isolated incidents -- several months apart, different flavors, etc.

Well, now I'm really upset... I bought a 32oz. container last week because it was a better deal for the price. The expiration date on the container was August 11 or thereabouts, but when I opened it up -- MOLD. EVERYWHERE.

The Chobani Facebook page is riddled with consumer complaints and pictures of mold, bulged aluminum lids (meaning a build-up of gases inside the container and potentially compromised yogurt), and on and on and on....

I'm disappointed because I love Chobani flavors, and the price is right. But I just cannot continue buying a product that seems to have sustained quality (and safety) issues. Sigh.

Either way, I'm conducting a Greek yogurt taste test across the brands this week, hoping to find a replacement. I'll let you know if I find a winner!

bjpchem said...

Bought a few variety packs from Costco (different cities) and have had the same problem. Mold and bulging lids. The first occurrence was in June and I thought that during shipping that some one dropped the ball but the second purchase in July put a stop to any future purchases. I'm not playing Russian Roulette with yogurt even if it is the best I have found so far.

Emily said...

Hey all,

I can't express to you how deeply saddened we are that your experiences with Chobani have resulted in anything other than sheer delight. I can assure you that we're looking into each and every concern thoroughly to get to the root of this.

Chobani is made with all natural goodness, and without preservatives, which unfortunately makes it vulnerable to temperature abuse somewhere along the way from our hands to yours. That being said, we take full responsibility for any ounce of our product that is subpar.

While we unfortunately can't reverse your experiences, we can prevent this from happening again, and do our best to make it right. Please email us at care[at]chobani.com and allow us to do so.

Thanks for your feedback. We sincerely appreciate your honesty.

Emily Schildt
Communications Manager
Chobani

Emily said...

Hey all,

I can't express to you how deeply saddened we are that your experiences with Chobani have resulted in anything other than sheer delight. I can assure you that we're looking into each and every concern thoroughly to get to the root of this.

Chobani is made with all natural goodness, and without preservatives, which unfortunately makes it vulnerable to temperature abuse somewhere along the way from our hands to yours. That being said, we take full responsibility for any ounce of our product that is subpar.

While we unfortunately can't reverse your experiences, we can prevent this from happening again, and do our best to make it right. Please email us at care[at]chobani.com and allow us to do so.

Thanks for your feedback. We sincerely appreciate your honesty.

Emily Schildt
Communications Manager
Chobani

Unknown said...

I was glad to find this blog!
I just bought two vanilla Chobani's a few days ago. Both had mold when opened. I took them back to the store as well as e-mailed the company. I suspect this is a bad batch or they are not processing/sealing their yogurt properly. I will not take the chance that Chobani's process is putting out a product that could be giving me food poisoning.
Thanks.

Lann
Spokane, WA

palmerhockeymom said...

I purchased a case of the Chobani from Costco this week. The expiration date is September 12 and three of them have now had mold. This is not the first time they have mold, but it is the last time I am buying them. They are not cheap where I live and it is a pain to keep returning them to the store.

Pam said...

I'm glad I found your blog. 2 weeks in a row I went to Costco only to find that there was no Chobani on the shelves. (It's usually packed to the brim.) Asked the first week and was simply told they were "out of stock" by the Costco employee working in Dairy. Okay so this week I walk over to Customer Service and ask. The gal there tells me about the mold problem and said they aren't re-stocking it until Chobani has this problem cleared up. The Costco Customer Service rep told me that they found mold in their facility. Now, who knows if that just improper storage, rotten fruit or whatever.

I like their yogurt but I'm not buying anymore until this is fixed, for certain. It's not safe to eat if there is mold growing on it. Just because you see it on the surface doesn't mean it hasn't gone down further into the food. People with respiratory problems or allergies can be more severely affected. It's best just to toss it. Better safe than sorry.