Plant-based alternatives are not ‘yoghurt’; EU Regulation (EEC) No. 1898/87 stipulates that yoghurt is a dairy product (udder product). ‘Veggieghurts’ are therefore technical products that are often based on food trickery:
The lactic acid bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus acidophilus can convert the sugar in the plant-based drink, so fermentation is successful. However, the consistency of ‘veggie yoghurt’ is very runny because the protein content is generally very low and the ideal protein, which binds a lot of water and can therefore form the micelles, is completely missing. Industrially, ‘soy yoghurt’ is therefore provided with all kinds of additives (thickeners, sugar, stabilisers, etc.), which ultimately has nothing to do with real yoghurt.