Walk down Broadway on a warm afternoon and you will see hoards of people in line for some “swirly goodness” that will “indulge the senses,” according to the Pinkberry Web site. But—unknown to most Pinkberry enthusiasts—some recent close examinations have shown that the tangy frozen dessert, touted as healthy and natural yogurt, may not live up to its reputation.
With roughly 50 locations in Los Angeles and New York and a newcomer to the frozen treat scene, Pinkberry recently settled a class-action lawsuit in which it was accused of misrepresenting its product as all-natural yogurt. Despite the dessert chain’s claims, ingredient lists indicate that much of what goes into the product is artificial.
According to the ingredients list for the recipe to Original Pinkberry, the yogurt contains a whopping 23 synthetic ingredients. In addition to natural skim milk and nonfat yogurt with “live and active cultures,” the Original Pinkberry contains three types of sugar—sucrose, fructose, and dextrose—and numerous emulsifiers and acidifiers including lactoglycerides, sodium citrate, and calcium fumarate, according to Pinkberry’s Web site.
“Nobody should be falsely advertising,” Shira Kaufman, Law ’11, said. “That’s just wrong.”
The information isn’t particularly hidden—all nutritional information, including ingredients, can now be conveniently consulted in fine print in front of the cash register and on the chain’s Web site. And some students said that the recent revelations aren’t so surprising.
“If you think it’s too good to be true, then it probably is,” Mary Kate Johnson, Law ’10.
Although many of Pinkberry’s ingredients are “natural,” certain components such as fructose and maltodextrin are extracted from corn syrup in a lab and are not particularly healthful. Fructose, specifically, has been linked to heart disease, and has been proven to raise blood levels, cholesterol, and fat triglycerides when consumed in large quantities.
All ingredients aside, compared to Tasti D-Lite and Yolato Healthy Gelato, Pinkberry may still be healthier. Each serving has fewer calories and calories from fat than its competitors, and Pinkberry has only 7 grams more sugar than Tasti D-Lite and 12 grams less sugar than Yolato. So even though this “swirly goodness” may not be a health-guru’s dream, it is still a healthy option for frozen-treats fanatics.
Perhaps that is why the recent Pinkberry publicity has not swayed many Columbia students. Even people who know about the ingredient implications do not seem to mind. “Maybe I would order a medium instead of a large,” Johnson said.
Kaufman, a self-described addict, said that money is the only issue that can curb a Pinkberry craving.