history of soy yogurt, soy acidophilus milk and other ... - SoyInfo Center

and was eventually appointed director of research and
development and later general manager. He introduced
aseptic Tetra-brik packaging for the company’s then sole
product–a soyabean protein drink marketed as Vitasoy–and
a range of new drinks: teas, juices and, more recently, fresh
cows’ milk and milk drinks. Since he has been at the helm,
the company’s turnover and profi ts have increased at least
seven-fold.”
When Vitasoy was launched by K.S. Lo in 1940, it was
“virtually the only alternative available to people who, like
most southern Chinese, found cow’s milk both unpalatable
and indigestible. By the time other manufacturers got in on
the act we had a 25% share of the Hong Kong soft drinks
market. We had also started to diversify into other beverages
and were beginning to export. Then as Hong Kong people
developed a taste for milk–the result of modern bottle
feeding practices, the fast food boom and overseas education
or work for large numbers of Hong Kong Chinese–we got
into large scale production and marketing of milk.”
Questioned about some of the company’s projects which
were “much less than successful,” Lo responded, “You must
be referring to our premature and quickly aborted entry
into fast food production and marketing back in the early
1970s. We started to produce pre-cooked Chinese dishes,
infant weaning food and a ‘cheese’ from soyabean milk. The
Hong Kong population wasn’t ready for them and we lacked
experience outside our then one-product operation. But we
learned a lot from that failure. We haven’t repeated it.”
The company diversifi ed into fruit juices in 1976. It is
now also diversifying geographically in terms of assets and
revenue producing activities, perhaps in anticipation or fear
of China’s inevitable resumption of sovereignty over Hong
Kong. Lo notes that “We intend to have a third of our eggs
in the Hong Kong basket, a third in the China basket and the
rest spread around the world before the end of the decade.”
528. Lee, Jung-Sook; Ko, Y.T.; Paik, J.K. 1984. [Studies on
production of soy yogurt: Effects of defatted soy milk on the
growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus]. Han’guk Nonghwa
Hakhoe Chi (J. of the Korean Agricultural Chemical Society)
27(1):7-13. March. [20 ref. Kor; eng]
• Summary: Soymilk was made with soy fl our, then
fermented with Lactobacillus acidophilus to make a
soy yoghurt. Addition of glucose and fructose greatly
enhanced acid production by L. acidophilus, the optimum
concentration of the 2 sugars in the medium being about
3% each. Among the growth stimulating agents tested,
yeast extract stimulated acid production, the optimum
concentration being about 0.5%. L-Methionine reduced acid
production by L. acidophilus, while dried whey, and nonfat
dried milk, and protein concentration had no signifi cant
effect on its growth or acid production. Address: Dep. of
Foods and Nutrition, Duksung Women’s College and Lotte-
Chil Sung Beverage Co., Ltd. Both: Seoul, South Korea.
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 209
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529. Product Name: Piima (Made from Soymilk).
Manufacturer’s Name: Soycraft.
Manufacturer’s Address: P.O. Box 420, Woollahra (near
Sydney), NSW 2025, Australia. Phone: (02) 32 0716.
Date of Introduction: 1984. March.
Ingredients: Incl. soymilk and culture.
New Product–Documentation: Letter from Ralph and Volli
Henderson, founders of Soycraft. 1984. Jan. 17. “Piima is on
our list for the end of next month.”
530. Chopra, C.S.; Mital, B.K.; Singh, Surjan. 1984.
Preparation of a yoghurt-like product from soybeans. J. of
Food Science and Technology (Mysore, India) 21(2):81-84.
April. [20 ref]
• Summary: A yogurt-like product was prepared from
soymilk alone and after adding 10, 20, and 30% nonfat milk.
Soymilk was supplemented with 1% sucrose (w/v) and was
inoculated with cultures of Streptococcus thermophilus
and Lactobacillus acidophilus, individually and together,
then incubated for 16 hours. Mixed cultures produced more
acid and better products than any single culture; addition of
nonfat milk further enhanced acid production. There was
no beany fl avor in any of the products. Addition of nonfat
milk up to 20% enhanced acceptability; 20% weakened
the body of the product. Address: Dep. of Food Science &
Technology, G.B. Pant Univ. of Agriculture & Technology,
Pantnagar, Nainital, UP, India.
531. Schmidt, R.H.; Morris, H.A. 1984. Gelation properties
of milk proteins, soy proteins, and blended protein systems.
Food Technology 38(5):85-88, 90, 92-94, 96. May. [91 ref]
• Summary: Special attention is given to the chemistry of
soy proteins and gelation reactions involving them for the
production of tofu, sufu, cheese analogs, and yogurt-type
products. Address: 1. Dep. of Food Science & Human
Nutrition, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; 2. Dep. of
Food Science & Nutrition, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
55108.
532. Savaiano, Dennis A.; Levitt, Michael D. 1984.
Nutritional and therapeutic aspects of fermented dairy
products. Contemporary Nutrition (General Mills,
Minneapolis, Minnesota) 9(6):1-2. June. [31 ref]
• Summary: Several researchers have reported a sizeable
2- to 10-fold increase in folic acid concentration during the
fermentation process.
“Lactose digestion: Despite their considerable lactose
content, it has been reported that yogurt and other fermented
dairy foods are better tolerated by lactase-defi cient subjects
than is milk” (6 references).
“Therapeutic effects of fermented dairy products:
Research concerning therapeutic attributes of fermented
dairy foods can be divided into three categories: (a)