Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Bolthouse Farms products go seriously downhill

My son is an extremely picky eater and it has been difficult finding a source of calcium for him. Of the different soy beverages on the market, he strongly preferred Bolthouse Farm's Vanilla Chai Tea. It was his main source of calcium for the last few years.

Today I bought a new bottle of Vanilla Chai. As soon as he tasted it, he commented that it tasted different (not as good). I had a glass myself and agree. The flavour has definitely gone downhill. Then I checked the ingredients and noticed that all the added vitamins and minerals are gone!

Old vanilla chai ingredientsNew vanilla chai ingredients
  • soy milk from concentrate (water, soy milk concentrate)
  • cane sugar
  • soy protein isolate
  • natural flavors [sic]
  • acacia gum
  • calcium (tricalcium phosphate)
  • carrageenan
  • salt
  • vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
  • magnesium (magnesium oxide)
  • green tea extract (water, green tea extract)
  • vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
  • zinc (zinc sulfate [sic])
  • iron (ferrous lactate)
  • vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)
  • soy milk from concentrate (water, soy milk concentrate)
  • cane sugar
  • soy protein isolate
  • natural flavors [sic]
  • acacia gum
  • sea salt
  • green tea (water, green tea extract)

The added vitamins and minerals, which were presumably why this beverage is so expensive, have disappeared, while the price remains high.

The Nutrition Facts box shows how nutritionally lacking the new formula is:

Old vanilla chai
Nutrition Facts
New vanilla chai
Nutrition Facts
Calories190180
Total Fat4g 6%3.5g 5%
Saturated + Trans0.5g + 0g 3%0.5g + 0g 3%
Cholesterol0mg 0%0mg 0%
Sodium75mg 3%105mg 4%
Potassium20mg 1%130 mg 4%
Carbohydrate28g 9%29g 10%
Fiber [sic]1g 4%2g 8%
Sugars27g27g
Protein10g8g
Vitamin A0%0%
Vitamin C100%0%
Calcium30%2%
Iron25%10%
Vitamin B6120%4%
Vitamin B12310%(not given)
Manganese30%20%
Zinc30%(not given)
(Figures are for a 250mL serving.)

The main reason I was buying vanilla chai was for the calcium. Now it's useless as a calcium source, and it isn't even very tasty any more.

Judging from the comments on their Facebook page, the other Bolthouse Farms beverages have also been made much less nutritious. If you share my concerns, join me in leaving a review and comment there.

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