Do probiotic cultures withstand freezing? Should you freeze your beloved dairy?

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March 11, 2022

Last week, I shared our updated Shelf Life Guide for Farm Fresh Food with you. And, gee, that sparked some wonderful conversations with readers. Great feedback.

Multiple people were surprised that I did NOT recommend freezing yogurt and kefir. Their anecdotal stories told a different tale, one where you can freeze yogurt and kefir at home with varying success.

For example, some said that they freeze both yogurt and kefir with good results. Some said that they don’t notice a difference between fresh vs. frozen kefir, but freezing yogurt didn’t work well. Some said that freezing Greek yogurt works because it’s thick, but thinner yogurts get clumpy when thawed.

The stories were a little inconsistent, but it showed me that freezing yogurt and kefir is possible.

It’s not an issue of safety; it’s an issue of quality. Frozen foods are technically safe to eat indefinitely. But, they will degrade depending on the type of food, storage conditions, and time.

There was one BIG outstanding question from these conversations - what about microbiology? Can probiotic cultures survive freezing? I did some research.

I looked closely at a few studies about probiotics and frozen yogurt and kefir (1) (2) (3) (4). I saw a trend. All the charts and graphs looked something like this:

So… it seems that probiotic bacteria can survive when frozen.

However, the population decreases over time. The longer yogurt or kefir is frozen, the less probiotic health benefits. At 2 months in the freezer, probiotic populations can decrease 15-50%.

The amount of probiotic decrease depends on a variety of factors. Here are a few:

The type of dairy product matters. One study showed that traditionally fermented dairy maintains its cultures the best over time (compared to those fortified with probiotics).
Adding an ingredient to the yogurt, natural or artificial, can increase or decrease probiotics.
The storage conditions and methods of thawing make a difference with quality loss.

So… if you want to freeze yogurt or kefir, you can certainly do so. Convenience and health benefits can be challenging to balance. This is a personal choice.

Where do you get your probiotics? Would you give freezing yogurt or kefir a try? Do you make any compromises when it comes to food and health?

I’d love to hear from you.Comment below (no account required) or contact us.

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Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

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Do probiotic cultures withstand freezing? Should you freeze your beloved dairy?

Multiple people were surprised that I did NOT recommend freezing yogurt and kefir. Their anecdotal stories told a different tale, one where you can freeze yogurt and kefir at home with varying success.

The stories were a little inconsistent, but it showed me that freezing yogurt and kefir is possible.

There was one BIG outstanding question from these conversations - what about microbiology? Can probiotic cultures survive freezing? I did some research.

So… it seems that probiotic bacteria can survive when frozen.

However, the population decreases over time. The longer yogurt or kefir is frozen, the less probiotic health benefits. At 2 months in the freezer, probiotic populations can decrease 15-50%.

Where do you get your probiotics? Would you give freezing yogurt or kefir a try? Do you make any compromises when it comes to food and health?

More from the blog

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

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